Torque Vectoring Control for Enhancing Vehicle Safety and Energy Efficiency

Torque vectoring control is one of the most interesting techniques applicable to electric vehicles with multiple motors. Essentially it is the possibility to allocate desired amounts of torque to each motor. With an uneven allocation of torque between left and right sides of the vehicle, a direct yaw moment can be generated and exploited to enhance the vehicle handling behaviour. This allows to enhance vehicle safety, stability and cornering performance. Significant energy efficiency benefits are also achievable, either as a main priority or as a secondary objective when the main target is the vehicle handling behaviour. This Chapter explains the underlying principles of each element of a torque vectoring control framework: reference generator, high level controller, and low level controller. Notable applications are also presented and discussed in detail.