Steering System Modelling for Heavy Duty Vehicles

Abstract: Future heavy duty vehicles will be designed and manufactured with improved Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, ADAS. When developing ADAS, an accurate model of the vehicle dynamics greatly simplifies the development process. One element integral to the vehicle lateral dynamics and development of ADAS is the steering system. This thesis aims to develop an accurate model of a heavy duty vehicle steering system suitable for simulations. The input to the system is an input torque at the steering wheel and the output is the wheel angle. Physical models of the system components are developed using bond graphs and known relations. Some components are modelled with non-linear inefficiencies and friction of different complexity. Unknown parameters and functions are identified from measurement data using system identification tools such as, for example, linear regression and non-linear grid search. The different subsystems are identified separately to the extent deemed possible. Different model designs are considered, validated, and compared. The advantages and disadvantages of different model choices are discussed. Finally, a non-linear state space model is selected for its high accuracy and efficiency. As this final model can be used to simulate a heavy duty vehicle steering system on a desktop computer faster than real time, it fulfills its purpose.