Optimized robust cruise control system for an electric vehicle

Abstract

Besides environmental advantages and fuel efficiency, electric motors are a suitable choice for powertrain of vehicles due to appropriate similarity between their torque–speed characteristics and the required vehicle torque for longitudinal performance. An applicable robust control system for the cruise controller of a DC motor-driven electric vehicle is proposed. The robust controller is tuned using a numerical optimization design method to compensate the disturbances from the road grade and changes in the vehicle weight. In this study, the vehicle's powertrain model is developed and details of the controller design process are described. The robustness and performance of the designed controller is evaluated by performing computer simulations. The results demonstrate adequate robustness and disturbance rejection of the designed control system.