Path Following Control of Autonomous Four-Wheel-Independent-Drive Electric Vehicles via Second-Order Sliding Mode and Nonlinear Disturbance Observer Techniques

In this article, we aim to investigate the path following control problem for four-wheel-independent-drive electric vehicles with consideration of modeling errors and complex driving scenarios. In order to guarantee operational safety and robustness, a supertwisting second-order sliding mode (SOSM) control strategy is employed to suppress the heavy chattering issue existing in the traditional sliding mode control (SMC). To degrade the lumped disturbance, a nonlinear disturbance observer (NDOB) technique is proposed to estimate the disturbance and compensate the modeling error. Then, a composite control strategy, which combines the SMC algorithm and NDOB technique is proposed based on stability analysis of the corresponding closed-loop system. Finally, hardware-in-the-loop experimental results show that the supertwisting SOSM control algorithm with the NDOB technique can achieve better tracking performance and suppress the chattering phenomenon.

Automated summary

This article investigates the path following control problem for four-wheel-independent-drive electric vehicles, proposing a supertwisting second-order sliding mode control strategy and a nonlinear disturbance observer technique for better performance in suppressing chattering phenomenon.