Optimization of steering control to improve the energy consumption of internal combustion engine vehicles

This study aims at developing a vehicle dynamic simulator using combined CarSim and MATLAB/Simulink software packages loaded with the performance curves and characteristics of an internal combustion engine to optimize the effects of steering control on the energy consumption of an internal combustion engine vehicle. The simulator consists of modules for the engine, transmission, vehicle dynamic load, energy management strategy, and driving patterns. The goal of this research is to develop an advanced Steer By Wire (SBW) system. As the vehicle is turning, the repeatable turning or oversteer might occur due to several factors: 1. The path is narrow or the road curvature is high; 2. The insufficient designs of turning radius; 3. The driver's choice for turning paths; 4. Human operation factor (slow or fast operating steering wheel that the vehicle is unable to follow the route). Hence, under various steering sensitivity, vehicle speed, and turning radius, we searched the optimal operation parameters globally that the vehicle might save the maximal energy under the safety concerns. The results will be provided as the reference for the drivers or directly be integrated for the SBW under the semi-automatic driving mode. The results of optimal steering control show that: as the turning radius is 40m and vehicle speed is 70 km/h, the maximal energy consumption improvement is 42.72%. If the optimal vehicle speed is considered, the improvement can be even larger. The vehicle model was built based on the real vehicle parameters which can further be employed for the real transportation system.