On the Enhancement of Vehicle Handling and Energy Efficiency of Electric Vehicles with Multiple Motors: The iCOMPOSE Project

Lenzo, Basilio; Gruber, Patrick; Sorniotti, Aldo · 2020 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-38077-9_155

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Summary

This paper reviews the contributions of the FP7 European iCOMPOSE project, which aimed to enhance vehicle handling safety and energy efficiency in electric vehicles (EVs) equipped with multiple motors. The research leverages torque-vectoring (TV), a capability allowing individual control of each powertrain’s torque to generate direct yaw moments. Building on previous work from the E-VECTOORC project, iCOMPOSE focused on developing state-of-the-art TV controllers through theoretical analysis, vehicle simulations using Matlab-Simulink and IPG CarMaker, and extensive experimental validation. The experimental platform was a Range Rover Evoque prototype fitted with four identical switched reluctance motors, enabling the emulation of various drive architectures (AWD, FWD, RWD). Regarding vehicle handling, the project developed Single-Input-Single-Output (SISO) formulations to control yaw rate and sideslip angle. To address challenges in estimating tire-road friction, the reference yaw rate was modified based on estimated sideslip angles, ensuring safe performance on variable friction surfaces. This approach also enabled drift control modes and improved stability when towing trailers by controlling the hitch angle via a proportional-integral controller. The study compared various feedback controllers, including H∞ loop-shaping and robust linear quadratic regulators. Additionally, the research analyzed the impact of front-to-rear torque distribution, finding that rear-wheel-drive architectures exhibited more understeer than front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive configurations at low speeds and high lateral acceleration. For energy efficiency, the project characterized drivetrain power losses on a rolling road facility to develop torque allocation strategies. Three methods were evaluated: Implicit, Explicit, and Hybrid Control Allocation (H-CA). H-CA provided the optimal balance between computational burden and efficiency, utilizing a "switching torque" threshold to determine whether to engage single or dual motors per side. These strategies yielded energy savings of 2–3% on conventional driving cycles and up to 5% during cornering. Furthermore, optimizing the vehicle’s understeer characteristic to near-neutral steering reduced inverter input power by over 10%. Combining optimal cornering response with torque allocation, the researchers identified that minimizing total power losses (including tire slip) required specific destabilizing or stabilizing yaw moments. A rule-based sub-optimal strategy incorporating these findings achieved energy savings exceeding 8% compared to baseline vehicles. The iCOMPOSE project demonstrates that torque-vectoring significantly improves both the dynamic safety and energy efficiency of multi-motor EVs. By integrating advanced control algorithms for handling with optimized torque distribution for efficiency, the findings support the broader adoption of these vehicle configurations. The experimental validations confirm that seamless, continuous TV interventions offer superior performance compared to conventional brake-based stability systems, while specific control strategies can substantially reduce power consumption.

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