Vehicle direct yaw moment control system based on the improved linear quadratic regulator

Purpose This study aims to propose an improved linear quadratic regulator (LQR) based on the adjusting weight coefficient, which is used to improve the performance of the vehicle direct yaw moment control (DYC) system. Design/methodology/approach After analyzing the responses of the side-slip angle and the yaw rate of the vehicle when driving under different road adhesion coefficients, the genetic algorithm and fuzzy logic theory were applied to design the parameter regulator for an improved LQR. This parameter regulator works according to the changes in the road adhesion coefficient between the tires and the road. Hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) tests with double-lane changes under low and high road surface adhesion coefficients were carried out. Findings The HiL test results demonstrate the proposed controllers’ effectiveness and reasonableness and satisfy the real-time requirement. The effectiveness of the proposed controller was also proven using the vehicle-handling stability objective evaluation method. Originality/value The objective evaluation results reveal better performance using the improved LQR DYC controller than a front wheel steering vehicle, especially in reducing driver fatigue, improving vehicle-handling stability and enhancing driving safety.