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ABSTRACT
Formula Student is a student-based competition between
competing universities worldwide where students design,
fabricate and race a small open wheel racing car. This
challenging task leads to innovations to gain a completive
edge. 4WS vehicles have higher lateral acceleration
capability, which is an advantage for the formula student
competition. The aim of this research is to quantify the
advantages of 4WS on a formula student racing car. This has
been completed by simulating two different 4WS controllers
(Vehicle Speed Function and Improved Yaw Dynamics
With Feed-Forward Control). The two 4WS controllers were
simulated in IPG: CarMaker. Results show a formula
student racing car in the skid-pan event can expect
approximately 1.30% to 1.36% reduction in lap times when
Vol 1, No 1 (2015)
1. INTRODUCTION
DRIVERS STEERING
ROTATION
AROUND C.G
(YAW RESPONSE)
REVOLUTION
(LATERAL
ACCELERATION
RESPONSE)
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Four areas of research were selected to fulfil the aim of this
investigation. Improvement Of Vehicle Dynamics covers the
theory behind 4WS and the established enhancements.
Design Approaches presents the concepts that 4WS systems
are designed around. Control Methods present a range of
different control methods and their controllers that achieve
4WS. 4WS Systems present the mechanical systems used to
steer the rear wheels in relation to control methods.
Together, these four topics will present the warrants and
knowledge to further investigate 4WS on a formula student
racing car.
REVOLUTION
CENTRIPETAL FORCE BY FRONT & REAR TIRES RESULTING IN
VEHICLE TURN
Vol 1, No 1 (2015)
this delay becomes larger due to greater side-slip angles.
Figure 2 shows the ideal case of 4WS. There is no delay in
generation of cornering forces between front and back, no
rotation around the centre of gravity and no side-slip angles.
Centripetal forces start the vehicle turning in a shorter time
compared to FWS.
TC-2
TC-1
Figure 3: Rear Wheels Steered Out Of Phase [5]
TC-1
TC-2
Figure 4: Rear Wheels Steered In Phase [5]
Vol 1, No 1 (2015)
Speed vs K(ratio)
1
ks
0.5
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
-1
-1.5
Vehicle
S2
-0.5 0
V
K(1 2 )s
Hs2,s1 (s)=
(1 +1)(2 +1)
speed vs K(ratio)
Speed (Km/h)
S1 Input
S2
ks
Proportional
Feed-forward
Controller Gain
M1
Actual
Vehicle
Model
+
+
M2
Feed-forward
Compensation
Controller Kff
Mff
Mfb
Feed-back
Controller Kfb
Vol 1, No 1 (2015)
Figure 7: Structure of the integrated optimal control logic
[22] where;
S1, S2: front/rear wheel angle (rad)
: side-slip angle (rad)
: yaw rate (rad/s)
M: momentum (Ns)
S1 Input
Reference
Error
Vehicle
_
Reference
Model
S2
Controller
Actuator
V Input
Derivative
of the Lateral
Velocity
S2
Error
+
0
Constant
Vehicle
_
Controller
Actuator
V Input
Vol 1, No 1 (2015)
actuator model in to his controllers to simulate the delays
and limits that could occur, see Figure 11. A first order lag
is used to represent the signal lag that occurs and saturation
is added to the actuator model to limit the rear steering
angle. Yamanaka, Taneda, and Tanizaki [30] claim a
movement of 2 of the rear wheels would be sufficient for
4WS system. Whether an estimate from track/wheelbase
ratio can be used to determine the required movement will
need further investigation. The movement needed for a
formula student racing car is unknown.
3. RESEARCH QUESTION
The literature demonstrates there are enhancements with
4WS but there is a knowledge gap for these enhancements
on a formula student racing car. It is inconclusive whether
4WS is beneficial in the context of Formula Student. The
research question becomes:
2.4.4 CV Limits
Constant Velocity (CV) joints are commonly used in
formula student racing cars to deliver the torque of the
motor to the wheels. Jan-Welm Biermann [31] investigated
CV joint efficiency. As shown in Figure 12 below, as the
angle of the CV joint moves away from zero its efficiency
drops. The angles limits chosen for 4WS will need to take
efficiency reductions into consideration.
CV Joint effciency
100
Efficiency (%)
99.5
99
98.5
98
97.5
97
0
6
9
12
Bending angle (degree)
15
4. METHODOLOGY
To determine the possible benefits of 4WS on a formula
student racing car, controllers need to be developed and
tested. The first objective, developing controllers, is reliant
on literature. The literature does not identify the best control
method; however, all methods have offered improvements.
Open-loop controllers can be implemented with
less development compared to closed-loop controllers. The
found open-loop controllers will only require common
signals that are available in a formula student racing car;
front steering angle and vehicle forward velocity.
Consequently open-loop controllers have been used to
determine if 4WS is advantageous.
To quantify the advantages of 4WS, the controllers need to
be tested. With the current level of knowledge, physical
testing would be too early with high expense. Building a
virtual model is a cost effective way of evaluating the
controllers and finding any issues which are not currently
known. Safety is an important aspect and robust controllers
are required. Therefore, the two open-loops controllers were
developed in a MATLAB/Simulink model and then
simulated with the software IPG: CarMaker. Wang and Li
[22] showed two degree of freedom simulators are only
acuate when the vehicle is in a non-emergency state (lateral
acceleration is less than 0.4g). Greater degrees of freedom
are therefore needed to simulate a racing environment. IPG:
CarMaker has been picked as the simulator due to many
degrees of freedom in the models used. In IPG: CarMaker
the skid-pan, Auto-cross and endurance events was
simulated.
Vol 1, No 1 (2015)
Mass: 332.9 kg
Wheelbase: 1.6 m
Front Track: 1.2 m
Rear Track: 1.15m
Front axle distance from
C.G: 0.814 m
Rear axle distance from
C.G: 0.79 m
Mass: 339.9 kg
Wheelbase: 1.6 m
Front Track: 1.2 m
Rear Track: 1.15m
Front axle distance from
C.G: 0.83 m
Rear axle distance from
C.G: 0.77 m
Vol 1, No 1 (2015)
Loop
direction/
No.
Right 1
FWS (s)
4WS - VSF
% of improvement
4.913
4.819
1.91
Right 2
5.326
5.257
Left 1
5.218
5.109
Left 2
5.229
5.161
Average % of improvement
1.30
2.09
1.30
1.30
FWS
(s)
4WS - IYD
% of
improvement
4.913
4.723
3.87
Right 2
5.326
5.249
1.45
Left 1
5.218
5.116
1.95
Left 2
5.229
5.163
1.26
Average % of improvement
1.36
5. RESULTS
In this section, the results of skid-pan, auto-cross and
endurance simulations will be shown. The major focus has
been the investigation around the skid-pan event in
developing the controllers. The skid-pan track geometry
presented large and fast corning situations which are ideal to
record maximum lateral acceleration as well as a quick test
due to the length of the track. Different integrations of
controller models could be tested quickly and compare with
the FWS model.
Model
FWS
4WS VSF
4WS IYD
Lap
time
(s)
55.71
55.47
55.39
% of
improvement
over FWS
0.43
0.57
Time
reduction
(s)
0.24
0.32
Vol 1, No 1 (2015)
Table 4: % of improvement in lap times around 22km
endurance track
FWS
Single
Lap
time
(s)
55.71
Endurance
event
complete
time (s)
1532.025
4WS VSF
55.47
1525.425
6.6
4WS IYD
55.39
1523.225
8.8
Model
Time
reduction
(s)
-
Lateral Acceleration
Lateral Acceleration (m/s^2)
-10
University
Corvallis OSU
Gteborg Chalmers
Stuttgart U
Erlangen U
Pomona CSU
Prague CTU
Coburg UAS
Weingarten UAS
Geien UAS THM
Karlsruhe UAS
Seattle U Washington
Thessaloniki U
Kassel U
Regensburg UAS
Time (s)
1301.74
1412.41
1412.80
1414.27
1414.37
1416.42
1428.25
1431.68
1445.13
1454.66
1463,34
1470.40
1482.49
1487.11
10
-11
-12
-13
-14
FWS
4WS - VSF
4WS - IYD
-15
-16
Time (s)
Vol 1, No 1 (2015)
0.2
0
-0.2
FWS
4WS - VSF
4WS - IYD
-0.4
-0.6
-0.8
-1
-1.2
-1.4
Time (s)
7. SUMMARY
0.1
0.2
FWS
4WS - VSF
4WS - IYD
-100
-150
Time (s)
8. FUTURE WORK
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Vol 1, No 1 (2015)
models of desired trajectories are better than open-loop
controllers; however, they are more complex to implement.
Open-loop controllers have shown an improvement and
therefore validate the next stage to develop closed-loop
controllers. The use of closed-loop controllers will add the
benefit of stability to the controller. Safety is an important
aspect and robust controllers are required.
Another area requiring attention is the 4WS system that
would be used. 7kg was used as the weight of the system in
this investigation and was picked due to the findings in the
literature. A formula student racing car is significantly
lighter than a Porsche 911 and so the weight of the system
could be reduced. The amount of force needed to move the
rear wheels will reduce the mechanical design specifications
and weight loss of the system should be expected. 5kg
system could be used in the next round of simulations.
Development of a rear wheel system that meets the
constraints of formula student rules as well as the
requirements demanded by the controllers is an open
research question that requires further investigation.
In further work with simulations of the next generation of
4WS controllers, the introduction of slalom tests should be
added. Slalom are common in formula student tracks and as
well as being good test of vehicle agility.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to gratefully acknowledge the
following for their support.
11.
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PUBLISHED REVIEWS
David G N Clark, MEng(Mech) CPEng(Ret) MIEAust
Senior Lecturer (Retired) Mechanical Engineering,
Swinburne University of Technology
This paper outlines simulations that show some minor
potential improvement in lap times of Formula Student
racing cars when four wheel steering is applied, compared to
front wheel steering. It is considered worthwhile to design
and build a four wheel steered Formula Student racer and
confirm that it performs better in all applications of skidpan, auto-cross and endurance events. The controllers for
the four wheel steering system will need to be carefully
implemented.
Clint Steele
Swinburne University of Technology
The most striking outcome of this paper is the revelation of
the compromise between the use of 4WS and the extra
driver effort required. This is unlikely to be of practical
consequence to industry due to the option of power, but it
does raise an area of research that is of academic value the
development of an ergonomically viable control system that
provides 4WS benefit without power assistance.
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