Design of the Steering Feedback Controller of a Steer-by-Wire System Using Admittance Model

The steer-by-wire (SbW) system is a promising system in the realm of automotive engineering. It substitutes the mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the front road wheels with an electronic signal-based functional connection. The SbW system offers several advantages over conventional steering systems, including weight reduction, reduced vibration, and enhanced steering functionality configuration. However, the absence of a mechanical linkage in the SbW system gives rise to certain challenges. The SbW system requires endowing adequate steering feel such as damping and reaction force using feedback motor, and the road wheel needs robust control of pinion motor for normal load variation by passengers and self-aligning torque as external disturbance. The SbW system is composed of the steering feedback module (SFM) and the road wheel module (RWM). This paper proposes a control approach to generate steering feel for SFM, in which steering feel is generated using an admittance model based on velocity control. A disturbance observer is applied to ensure robustness of velocity control. The steering wheel torque versus steering wheel angle (T–A) curve is used to analyze steering feel characteristic and evaluate steering feel. The proposed steering system is validated through experiments that confirm its ability to provide satisfactory steering feel for vehicles. This work may offer a novel solution for the design of advanced steering systems in the field for the future mobility such as an autonomous driving.