From donuts to drifting and beyond: controlling the nonlinear dynamics of automated vehicles

Zhang, Yilun and Takács, Dénes and Orosz, Gábor (2025) From donuts to drifting and beyond: controlling the nonlinear dynamics of automated vehicles. VEHICLE SYSTEM DYNAMICS. ISSN 0042-3114

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Abstract

The nonlinear dynamics of automated vehicles are studied. A 5 degree-of-freedom single track model is derived using the Appellian approach to describe the dynamics of rear-wheel drive and front-wheel steer automobiles. This model captures the interactions between the vehicle body and the wheels while eliminating the calculation of the internal reaction forces and torques. An anisotropic combined slip brush tyre model is constructed to describe tyre characteristics. The handling characteristics are analysed by using bifurcation analysis: stable and unstable invariant solutions are studied while varying the steering angle and driving torque. The results provide insights about the existence and stability of steady states (namely, steady-state cornering, donut, drifting) and periodic orbits, and this knowledge is utilised when designing simple, computationally inexpensive controllers that can stabilise unstable states and navigate the system between them. This establishes a flexible control framework that can be used to realise a large variety of extreme manoeuvres.

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