Driver Steering Control and Full Vehicle Dynamics Study Based on a Nonlinear Three-Directional Coupled Heavy-Duty Vehicle Model

Under complicated driving situations, such as cornering brake, lane change, or barrier avoidance, the vertical, lateral, and longitudinal dynamics of a vehicle are coupled and interacted obviously. This work aims to propose the suitable vehicle and driver models for researching full vehicle dynamics in complicated conditions. A nonlinear three-directional coupled lumped parameters (TCLP) model of a heavy-duty vehicle considering the nonlinearity of suspension damping and tire stiffness is built firstly. Then a modified preview driver model with nonlinear time delay is proposed and connected to the TCLP model to form a driver-vehicle closed-loop system. The presented driver-vehicle closed-loop system is evaluated during a double-lane change and compared with test data, traditional handling stability vehicle model, linear full vehicle model, and other driver models. The results show that the new driver model has better lane keeping performances than the other two driver models. In addition, the effects of driver model parameters on lane keeping performances, handling stability, ride comfort, and roll stability are discussed. The models and results of this paper are useful to enhance understanding the effects of driver behaviour on full vehicle dynamics.