A torque distribution approach to electronic stability control for in-wheel motor electric vehicles

Recently, research on electronic stability control (ESC) of in-wheel motor electric vehicles has progressed considerably; however, the control effect cannot fulfil the comprehensive requirement for vehicle active safety. This paper proposes a hierarchical yaw stability controller with direct torque distribution. Using the sliding mode control method, the upper controller outputs a desired yaw moment. Then, taking advantage of multiple in-wheel motors, four distributed torque commands are cooperatively adjusted and given out by the lower controller. Additionally, a dynamic torque limiter is designed to restrain unintended acceleration. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness in improving the vehicle stability and handling performance.