A new Reference Model for Vehicle Stability and Steerability which is Tracked by Nonlinear Rear Wheel Steering Controller

In order to improve vehicle lateral stability and steerability, an active rear steering strategy (ARS) using nonlinear optimal predictive control method is presented. A new reference model considering the tire/road conditions and physical limitations of real vehicle has been proposed for being tracked by the designed controller. The performance of the designed controller in tracking the proposed reference model is evaluated during a constant turning maneuver with varied coefficient of friction. Also, the effect of free parametes of controller on vehicle tracking error in the presence of uncertainty is discussued. Finally, the performance of the controller is compared with another strategy reported in literature during lane change maneuver. The simulation results show that tracking the proposed new reference model by nonlinear predictive control method improves vehicle stability and steerability, significantly.