A novel in-situ steering control for distributed drive vehicles based on active disturbance rejection control

In complex and dynamic traffic environments, vehicle steering performance is critical for safety and maneuverability. To improve the poor turning capability of traditional Ackermann-steering off-road vehicles, this study utilizes the independent torque control advantages of distributed drive vehicles to develop an in-situ steering control strategy based on Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ADRC). The proposed control strategy consists of two layers. In the upper layer, the ADRC method is introduced to adjust the roughly calculated resistance torque, thereby improving the tracking capability of the yaw rate. In the lower layer, a Model Predictive Control (MPC) is employed for four-wheel torque distribution, setting the desired longitudinal and lateral velocities to zero to suppress centre-of-mass deviation. Additionally, wheel torque is constrained according to different road conditions to prevent excessive tire slip. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed control strategy can rapidly and accurately track the desired yaw rate on high-, medium-, and low-adhesion road surfaces, effectively suppressing the deviation of the steering centre and enhancing both yaw angle tracking performance and lateral stability.