IET Intelligent Transport Systems

Research Article

Modelling and testing of in-wheel motor drive ISSN 1751-956X

Received on 16th March 2018
Accepted on 16th July 2018
intelligent electric vehicles based on co- doi: 10.1049/iet-its.2018.5047
www.ietdl.org
simulation with Carsim/Simulink
Yong Li1 , Huifan Deng2, Xing Xu1, Wujie Wang2
1Automotive Engineering Research Institute, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, People's Republic of China
2School of Automotive and Traffic Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, People's Republic of China
E-mail: liyongthinkpad@outlook.com

Abstract: To study the overall performance of the distributed drive intelligent electric vehicle (EV), a in-wheel motor drive
(IWMD) vehicle is developed in this study. The configuration and 11-degrees of freedom model of IWMD EV is introduced firstly.
Then, the co-simulation model of IWMD EV based on Carsim and Matlab/Simulink is established. The block design is employed
for the co-simulation modelling, including the in-wheel motor model, driver model, tyre model, steering model, braking model,
suspension model, aerodynamic model, and road surface model. The effectiveness and the reasonableness of the co-simulation
model of IWMD EV are verified by the snake testing with on the campus road. The co-simulation model provides accuracy and
reliable simulation method for the path-tracking and self-driving study of IWMD intelligent vehicle in the future.

1 Introduction motion model, the complex setting of simulation condition and

With the escalating problem of the oil crisis and environmental
pollution, electric vehicle (EV) has become an effective way to
solve the above-mentioned problem due to its energy-saving,
environmental-friendly, and safety properties. In recent years, the
United States, Japan, Europe, China, and other countries and
regions have proposed their own electric car development
strategies. EVs generally considered as the transport tools in the
21st century are facing the rapid development of strategic
opportunities [1, 2]. Compared with traditional internal combustion
engine vehicles, in-wheel motor drive (IWMD) EV directly driven
by the in-wheel motor not only has higher energy efficiency but
also achieves regenerative braking. In addition, the IWMD EV also
has the advantages of compact structure, high transmission
efficiency, short transmission chain etc., which can utilise the
coordinated control of redundant degrees of freedom (DOF) to
optimise the distribution of driving and braking force [3, 4]. That
greatly improves the active safety and energy consumption of the
whole vehicle. It is of great significance to establish the accurate
simulation model for the handling stability study of IWMD EV.
Early studies on vehicle systems generally linearised the vehicle
model to make the parameters as simple as possible, such as the
linear 2-DOF monorail model. In the 2-DOF model, the slip angle
of the tyre is proportional to the lateral force by limiting the lateral
acceleration [5, 6]. With the development of computer technology,
it is possible to get the solution of the vehicle model with strong
non-linear and multi-DOF. For the two-axis vehicle, Guo proposed
12-DOF non-linear model, in which 6-DOF of vehicle motion, 4-
DOF of the wheel rotating, and 2-DOF of the steering wheel are
considered. This model fully reflects vehicle dynamic
characteristics [7]. Considering the vertical movement of the
vehicle, Jin established the 18-DOF dynamic model of four-wheel
independent drive EV with Simulink [8]. Liu proposed the
simulation model of 4IWMD EV and studied the slip rate control
scheme [9]. Wang established the dynamics model of EV and the
mathematical model of permanent magnet DC motor, which
reflects the particularity that vehicle movement is influenced by the
wind resistance [10]. Yang built the dynamic model of quarter EV
for slip and studied the control method of anti-slip and yaw
stability [11]. Zong established the vehicle model used for special
conditions simulation of a four-wheel drive and steering EV [12].
However, most of the current models of IWMD EV are established
based on Matlab/Simulink, remaining greatly simplified vehicle
inadequate driver model.
To adequately and accurately reflect the operating condition of
IWMD EV, it is necessary to carry out the co-simulation study
using Simulink and Carsim. In this paper, a IWMD EV developed
by our research group is taken as the research object. Firstly, a co-
simulation model of IWMD EV is established with Simulink and
Carsim. The simulation model is designed by blocks, including in-
wheel motor model, battery model, driver model, tyre model,
suspension model, steering model, braking model, aerodynamic
model, and road surface model. Considering the longitudinal,
lateral, and vertical properties, the 11-DOF non-linear model of the
vehicle is established in Carsim. The co-simulation study is
supposed to take advantages of Simulink and Carsim software and
reflect the real motion status of IWMD EV. The rationality and
accuracy of the vehicle simulation model is verified by snake
testing on the campus road.
The paper is organised as follows. First, the configuration and
11-DOF model of IWMD EV are analysed in Section 2. The blocks
of the co-simulation model of IWMD EV, in Section 3, are
established. After that, in Section 4, the co-simulation model with
Simulink and Carsim is presented. In Section 5, the co-simulation
model is verified by road testing. Section 6 is devoted to the
conclusions and future work of the work.
2 Configuration and 11-DOF model of IWMD EV
The configuration of IWMD EV studied in this paper is shown in
Fig. 1. The IWMD EV has four in-wheel motors that can be
independently controlled by motor controller [13, 14]. The EV is
powered by lithium-ion battery, consisting of six modules
connected in series. The module voltage is 12 V. The nominal
voltage and current of the battery are 72 V and 100 A, respectively.
Each of the four in-wheel motors can be controlled to produce
traction torque and make the corresponding wheel works an active
wheel. The wheel will work as a passive if the motor is not
controlled. In this paper, two front in-wheel motor are used to drive
the vehicle.
The 11-DOF model of IWMD EV shown in Fig. 2 consists of 6-
DOF of the vehicle body, 4-DOF of wheel steering, and 1-DOF of
front wheel steering angle [15–19]. The 11-DOF vehicle model is
built with Carsim software.
The longitudinal equation of motion is expressed as

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 max = m(v̇x − vyωz + vzωy) = Fx_ f lcos δ + Fx_ f rcos δ
(1)
−Fy_ f lsin δ − Fy_ f rsin δ + Fx_rl + Fx_rr − FR

where FR is the sum of rolling resistance, ramp resistance, and

wind resistance.
Lateral longitudinal motion equation is written as

may = m(v̇y + vxωz − vzωx) = Fx_ f lsin δ + Fx_ f rsin δ

(2)
+Fy_ f lcos δ + Fy_ f rcos δ + Fy_rl + Fy_rr

Yaw equation of motion is expressed as (see (3)) . Vertical motion

equation is written as

ms(v̇z − vxωy − vyωx) = Fz_ f l + Fz_ f r + Fz_rl + Fz_rr − mg (4)

Fig. 1  Configuration of the 4IWMD EV
Rolling equation of motion is written as

Bf Br
I xω⋅ x − (Iy − Iz)ωyωz = (F − Fz_ f r) + (Fz_rl − Fz_rr) (5)
2 z_ f l 2

Pitch motion equation is written as

lf lr
Iyω⋅ y − (Iz − I x)ωzωx = − (F + Fz_ f r) + (Fz_rl + Fz_rr) (6)
2 z_ f l 2

Wheel balance equation is described as

Ii jw⋅ = T x_i j − Fx_i jr − T b_i j − M f _i j (7)

ij

where m is the vehicle kerb weight. ms is the sprung mass, g is the

acceleration of gravity. Bf is the wheelbase of the front wheel. Br is
the wheelbase of the rear wheel. lf is the distance from the front
axle to the centre of the mass. lr is the distance from the rear axle to
the centre of mass. ax and ay are the longitudinal acceleration and
the lateral acceleration of the vehicle, respectively. Fx_fl, Fx_fr,
Fx_rl, and Fx_rr are the tyre longitudinal force of the left of the front
axle, the right of the front axle, the left of the rear axle, and the
right of the rear axle, respectively. Fy_fl, Fy_fr, Fy_rl, and Fy_rr are
the tyre lateral force of the left of the front axle, the right of the
front axle, the left of the rear axle, and the right of the rear axle,
respectively. These are the components of the tyre force in the
vehicle's coordinate system. Fs_ij is the suspension force. Tx_ij is
the wheel drive torque. Tb_ij is the wheel brake torque. Mf_ij is the
tyre rolling resistance. ωij is the wheel speed. Iij is the moment
inertia of the wheel. ij = fl, fr, rl, and rr. fl, fr, rl, and rr represent the
left front wheel, the right front wheel, the left rear wheel, and the Fig. 2  11-DOF model of IWMD EV
right rear wheel, respectively. vx, vy and vz are the vehicle speed on (a) Top view, (b) Left view

x-axis, y-axis and z-axis, respectively. ωx, ωy and ωz are the angular
velocity of the vehicle on x-axis, y-axis and z-axis, respectively. δ
is the front wheel angle. Ix, Iy and Iz are the moment inertia of the
vehicle on x-axis, y-axis and z-axis, respectively.
3 Simulation block of IWMD EV
Fig. 3 shows the block diagram of the simulation model of IWMD
EV. The vehicle model consists of several subsystem models,
including, steering model, in-wheel motor model, battery model,
driver model, tyre model, steering model, braking model,
suspension model, aerodynamic model, and road surface model.
In this paper, the steering model, the braking model, the
suspension model, the aerodynamics model, and the road surface
model are built with CarSim, and the in-wheel motor model, the
battery model, the driver model, and the tyre model are built with
Simulink.
3.1 In-wheel motor model
The in-wheel motor is the most important actuator of the IWMD
EV. In this paper, the inner rotor permanent magnet synchronous
motor (IPMSM) is employed as the in-wheel motor. The stator is
connected to the vehicle body, and the rotor is coupled to the wheel
rim.

Bf
Izω⋅ z − (I x − Iy)ωxωy = l f (Fx_ f lsin δ + Fy_ f lcos δ) − (F cos δ − Fy_ f lsin δ)
2 x_ f l
Bf
+l f (Fx_ f rsin δ + Fy_ f rcos δ) + (Fx_ f rcos δ − Fy_ f rsin δ) (3)
2
Br Br
−lrFx_rl − Fx_rl − lrFx_rr + Fx_rr
2 2
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 The four independent in-wheel motors are employed to drive or
brake [21–23]. The mathematical model of the in-wheel motor is
described by its motion equation, torque equation, and voltage
equation shown as following:

T ei − T Li − ωi f m = Jω̇i (10)

T ei = KmIi (11)

Ei − Keωi − ReIi = LaI˙i (12)

Fig. 3  Block diagram of 4IWMD EV
Fig. 4  Control diagram of the in-wheel motor
where Te and TL are the electromagnetic torque and load torque,
respectively. ωi, J, fm, Re, I, La are the rotating angular velocity, the
moment of inertia, the friction coefficient, the armature resistance,
the armature current, and inductance of the in-wheel motor,
respectively. Km and Ke are the torque coefficient and the back
EMF coefficient, respectively. E is the input voltage of the in-
wheel motor. i = fl, fr, rl, and rr.
Each in-wheel motor has a separate motor controller. The
closed-loop characteristics of the motor can be simplified to a
delay shown as follows:

1
Te = ⋅T (13)
τs + 1 c

where τ is the closed-loop response time. Tc is the motor drive

Fig. 5  Efficiency Map of the IPMSM
The in-wheel motor is a strong coupled, multivariable, and non-
linear system. The following assumptions are adopted to simplify
the system model: (i) The inside permeability of the permanent
magnet is the same as the air. (ii) The magnetic field generated by
the permanent magnet and the armature reaction generated by the
three-phase stator windings are sine distribution in the air gap. (iii)
Under the steady-state condition, the electromotive force (EMF) is
sine wave. (iv) The higher harmonic components are ignored.
The mathematical model of the in-wheel motor in the
synchronously rotating d-q reference frame is expressed as follows
[2, 20]:
did
ud = Ld + Rsid − Lqiqω
dt
(8)
diq
uq = Lq + Rsiq + Ldidω + ψ f ω
dt
where id and iq are the d-axis and q-axis current of the stator,
respectively. ud and uq represent the voltage component on the d-
axis and q-axis, respectively. ω denotes the electrical angular
velocity of the PMIWM rotor. Ld and Lq indicate the inductance of
the d-axis and q-axis, respectively. Rs shows the stator resistance.
ψf means the permanent magnet flux linkage of the rotor.
The electromagnetic torque equation of the PMIWM in the d-q
coordinate is described as follows:
3 equivalent internal resistance Rb, the battery current Ib, and the DC
Te = p ψ i + Ld − Lq idiq (9)
2 n fq
command.
The power loss characteristic is described by the motor
efficiency MAP. First, the motor efficiency MAP under different
speeds and torques is measured through experiments. Then, the
motor efficiency η at the current operating point can be obtained
according to the current speed and torque. The multiplication of
speed and torque is used as the output power [24–27]. The input
power can be calculated by the ratio of output power and η, which
is shown as
T en
Jin = (14)
η T e, n
The powertrain system is matched and tested on the test bench. The
efficiency MAP of the in-wheel motor is shown in Fig. 5. The
motor efficiency can be obtained from the efficiency map. The
motor current can be calculated by the following equations:
2πT en
Tractionmode
60ubatη
im = (15)
2πT enη
Brakingmode
60ubat
where im is the motor current. n is the motor speed. ubat is the
battery voltage.
3.2 Battery model
The Rint model, RC model, Thevenin model, PNGV model, and
DP model are widely used in the equivalent circuit model study of
Lithium-ion battery. Simulation and experiments were carried out
to investigate the effectiveness of the model and model-based SOC
estimation methods. Compared to other battery models, the Rint
model is reliable due to its simple topology structure [28–31]. The
Rint model is adopted in this paper. The equivalent circuit is shown
in Fig. 6.
The relationship between the open circuit voltage Eb, the
bus terminal voltage Ubbus is expressed as follows:

where Te is the electromagnet torque of the PMIWM. pn is the Eb = IbRb + Ubbus (16)
number of pole pairs.
The control diagram of the in-wheel motor is shown in Fig. 4. SOC represents the battery state of charge and can be calculated by
the following equations:

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 Qres Qused
SOC = =1− (17)
Q Q

where Qres is the remaining battery capacity (Ah). Qused is the used
battery capacity (Ah). When SOC = 0, the battery is exhausted.
When SOC = 1, the battery is fully charged.
For the safety of lithium-ion battery, the SOC range is set as
0 < SOCb ≤ 1 .
The LiFePO4 battery is used in this study, and the curve of
Fig. 6  Equivalent circuit of the Lithium battery
battery capacity varies with temperature is shown in Fig. 7. As is
seen from Fig. 7, the battery capacity changes with the temperature
[32].

3.3 Driver model

The driver model is an indispensable part of the closed-loop
simulation of vehicle dynamics. The model accuracy is very
important for the closed-loop simulation results. Many studies
about the drive model have been carried out by scholars, in which
speed and direction control are mainly considered [33, 34]. The
steering-follow driver model with the arbitrary path is established
based on the preview-follow driver model proposed by Guo. The
centroid longitudinal vehicle speed is employed as the model input.
The steering wheel angle, brake pedal opening, and accelerator
pedal opening are used as the output signals.
PID control scheme is implemented for vehicle speed control
shown in Fig. 8. The corresponding offset of acceleration and Fig. 7  Curve of LiFePO4 battery capacity vs. temperature
deceleration pedal can be calculated by the PID controller, in
which the error between the actual vehicle speed and the ideal
vehicle speed is used as the input. The offset of the braking pedal is
utilised as the input of the braking system model. The offset of the
acceleration pedal is used as the input of the motor drive system
model. The steering angle is employed as the input of the steering
system model. The desired traction/brake torque can be obtained Fig. 8  Driver model
for the target vehicle speed, and the torque will be distributed to the
four in-wheel motors to achieve constant speed operation. the front wheel angle can be obtained according to the angle
transfer transmission characteristics of the steering system [38–40].
3.4 Tyre model The relationship between the front wheel angle δ and the steering
wheel angle input δsw can be described as
The tyre model is responsible for the adhesion with the ground and
plays an essential role in vehicle dynamics model. The non-linear δsw Mz
characteristics and high accuracy of the tyre should be considered δ= − (21)
isteer Ksteer
for the tyre model [35–37]. The Uni Tire model proposed by Guo
is employed as the tyre model in this study. The following where δ is the front wheel angle. δsw is the steering angle. isteer is
assumption should be considered. (i) The carcase only undergoes
the angle transmission ratio of the steering system. Ksteer is the
lateral deformation. (ii) The offset along z-axis is ignored. (iii) The
rotating angle and the tyre camber around x-axis are ignored. The positive stiffness of the steering system. Mz is the torque used to
force and torque of the tyre are shown as feedback to neutral of the wheel.
Sx and Sy are introduced into the unified semi-empirical model
3.6 Braking model
Sx = V sx / V ω = V ωx − ωRtyre V ω (18) Regenerative braking system (RBS) that converters part of the
vehicle kinetic energy into electrical energy storage is of great
Sy = V sy / V ω = V ωycos α V ω (19) significance to improve the economy of the vehicle. However, the
RBS cannot provide enough braking force when emergency
where Vω = ωRtyre is the wheel rolling speed. ω is the wheel speed. braking or the vehicle speed is low. Considering the operating
Rtyre is the rolling radius. safety of the vehicle, the coordination of hydraulic brake system
The unsteady rolling resistance is described as (HBS) and RBS is adopted in this study. The HBS and RBS are
coupled in parallel and worked separately. The brake force
⋅ ω produced by RBS is controlled by the system, and the braking
My = (S (ω)Mys − My)
θr gn force generated by the HBS is controlled by the braking pedal [41].
(20) To improve the economy, a large brake pedal travel is employed in
π ω
Mys = − Fz f R 1 + htan this study. RBS just works in the condition of small braking force.
2 ωcr The braking force of the front and rear shaft of the vehicle is
expressed as
where h is the rolling resistance coefficient. θr is the relaxation
angle. Fxb f = Gzβ
(22)
Fxbr = Gz(1 − β)
3.5 Steering model
The high-precision and the fast-respond servo motor is selected as where Fxbf and Fxbr are the ground braking force of the front axle
the actuator of the steering system in this study, and supposed to and rear axle, respectively. β is the distribution coefficient of brake
execute the steering commands. The input signal is generated by braking force.
the steering angle. Considering the impact of the tyre back torque,

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 where T is the output torque for the motor. r is the wheel radius. i is
the corresponding gear ratio. ηt is the transmission efficiency.

3.9 Road surface model

The adhesion coefficient of the front and rear shaft can be defined
as

Fxbi
φi = (26)
Fzi

where φi is the coefficient of i-axis. Fxbi is the ground braking

force. Fzi is the ground reaction force.

4 Co-simulation model
Fig. 9  Carsim software
The Carsim user interface shown in Fig. 9 mainly includes
definition of the vehicles parameters and simulation conditions,
simulation solution configurations and simulation results
processing.
To realise the co-simulation of IWMD EV, the interface
between Simulink and Carsim must be set firstly. The vehicle
speed and motor speed of four wheels in Carsim need to be given
to driver model and in-wheel motor model in Simulink. The
traction torque distribution is used to generate the input command
for the in-wheel motor. The torque is distributed to the two front in-
wheel motors in Carsim.
The data is transferred through CarSim/S-Function block in the
co-simulation model. The input and output variables are set in
Carsim. When the simulation starts, the variables in Simulink are
passed to Carsim while the variables in Carsim are also fed back to
Simulink. In the Simulink environment, the electronic differential
Fig. 10  Co-simulation model (ED) control system, and differential assist steering (DAS) control
system are coordinated as the upper-level controller to receive the
3.7 Suspension model feedback dynamic parameters from Carsim model, in which the
control signal for each in-wheel motor can be computed.
The suspension force between each wheel and the vehicle body can Meanwhile, the driver model also receives the vehicle speed signal
be calculated from wheel jump, vertical movement of the sprung from Carsim and calculates the control signal for the in-wheel
mass, roll and pitch movements [42, 43]. Suspension force of motor. The in-wheel motor model receives the control signal of the
sprung mass can be expressed as ED-DAS coordination system and the driver model and generates
the traction torque signal. The torque signal is passed to the vehicle
Fs_i j = ks_i j(zu_i j − zi j) + bs_i j(żu_i j − żi j) + f i j (23) model in Carsim through S-Function block. The co-simulation
model is shown in Fig. 10.
where ks_ij is the suspension stiffness. zij is the height of the
connection point between the body and suspension. bs_ij is 5 Experimental verification
suspension damping.
5.1 Testing vehicle setup
3.8 Aerodynamic model A novel IWMD EV is developed in this study. The parameters of
The force while EV is operating includes rolling resistance, wind the IWMD EV are illustrated in Table 1.
resistance, climbing resistance, and accelerate resistance. EV in the To analyse the status of each in-wheel motor, a voltage sensor
driving process by and driving force and the resistance equal, the and four current sensors are used to monitor the input voltage and
formula is input current of each motor controller. The torque sensor and the
steering angle sensor mounted on the steering column are
employed to measure the steering torque and steering angle. The
Ft = F f + Fw + Fi + F j = f mgcos α hall speed sensor is utilised to obtain the wheel speed. The steering
(24) angle sensor and torque sensor are shown in Fig. 11.
CD Av2 dv The D2P-Moto Hawk is used for designing the upper vehicle
+ + mgsin α + δm
21.15 dt controller and coordinating four in-wheel motor controllers. Also,
the signals from the controllers and sensors are measured,
where Ft is the driving force for the vehicle. Ff is the rolling recorded, and passed by CAN bus. The vehicle controller based on
resistance. Fw is the wind resistance. Fi is the climbing resistance. D2P-Moto is shown in Fig. 12. All the data from vehicle sensors is
Fj is the acceleration resistance. f is the rolling resistance measured and processed in the analogue and frequency channels.
coefficient. m is the vehicle mass. α is the road slope angle. CD is The control signals are solved and passed to the in-wheel motor
the wind resistance coefficient. A is the upwind area of the vehicle. controller through PWM output channel. The PWM analogue
v is the vehicle speed. δ is the coefficient of the rotating mass. convert module is designed to convert the control quantity, and
The demand torque of the in-wheel motor can be obtained by match the input and output of the in-wheel motor controller due to
the following equations: the analogue signal of the in-wheel motor controller. All the control
and status signals of the vehicle can be monitored and recorded by
a laptop through CAN bus of the D2P-based rapid prototype [13].
CD Av2 dv
f mgcos α + + mgsin α + δm r
Ftr 21.15 dt (25)
T= =
iηt iηt

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Table 1 Parameters of the IWMD EV
Parameter Value Unit
vehicleparameters vehicle length 2.55 m
vehicle width 1.35 m
vehicle height 1.5 m
tread 1.085 m
wheelbase 1.635 m
gross vehicle weight 710 kg
centroid height 0.7 m Fig. 11  Steering angle sensor and Torque sensor
(a) Steering angle sensor, (b) Steering torque sensor
wheel radius 0.245 m
frontal area 1.87 m2
max. speed 60 km/h
kerb weight 520 kg
full load quality 800 kg
steering angle −540∼540 deg
front wheel corner −27 deg
drive system mass 18.6 kg
nominal Power 4 kW
nominal frequency 50 Hz
nominal Voltage 72 V
nominal Speed 1200 r/min
nominal Torque 80 Nm
moment of Inertia 0.06 kg·m2
pole pair number 2 pair
batterypack system nominal voltage 72 V
nominal capacity 40 Ah
battery name Chunlan / Fig. 12  Vehicle controller based on D2P-Moto
battery brand IFPE40 /

5.2 Co-simulation model verification

To verify the established co-simulation model, simulation and
vehicle testing under the same condition are carried out on the
IWMD EV.

5.2.1 Steering torque and yaw rate testing: The snake testing is
implemented the straight campus road shown in Fig. 13. The road
surface adhesion coefficient is 0.85. The sine wave is used as the
input signal of the steering angle, which is in the range of 0–60
degrees. The vehicle speed is shown in Fig. 14. The test vehicle
accelerates from standstill and keeps 15 km/h after 20 s. The
steering angle and steering torque are shown in Figs. 15 and 16.
The sine wave is used as the input signal of the steering angle when
the vehicle speed is stable, and it lasts for ∼7 s with 50-deg
amplitude. The data recorded in the test including steering angle,
electronic throttle, in-wheel motor speed, longitudinal speed,
lateral acceleration, and yaw rate.
The steering angle signal obtained from the vehicle testing is
used as the input of the model simulation. The simulation speed is
set to 15 km/h, which makes the co-simulation condition close to
the road testing condition. Fig. 16 shows the comparison results of
steering torque. It can be seen that the steering torque increases
with the steering angle. The peak value of the steering torque is
appropriate 5 Nm. The steering torque with road testing tracks well
with that with co-simulation results. The yaw rate response of the
vehicle is shown in Fig. 17. It can be seen that the yaw rate
increases with the steering angle when the vehicle speed keeps
stable under the co-simulation and the vehicle testing results. The
peak value is ∼0.1 rad/s.
From the comparison results in Figs. 16 and 17, we can see that
the actual status of the road testing vehicle agrees with co-
simulation results with the same input. The reliability of the co-
simulation model is verified.
Fig. 13  Test vehicle of UJS
When the road testing is implemented without torque
distribution, the same control signal is generated to each in-wheel
motor controller by the vehicle controller according to the pedal
signal, which means the in-wheel motor has the same power. The
speed of the road testing vehicle is shown in Fig. 18. It can be seen
that the test vehicle takes 20 s to accelerate to 15 km/h. A trough
appears at ∼50 s due to the bulge on the road, which causes a
decrease in the vehicle speed.
The steering torque of co-simulation and road testing results is
shown in Fig. 19. It can be seen that the actual value is greatly
larger than the ideal value. That is also caused by the same control
without torque distribution, and verified by the co-simulation
results in Fig. 16.
Fig. 20 shows the yaw rate curve of the road testing. It can be
seen that the amplitude of the yaw rate is ∼0.1 rad/s with the sine
wave input of steering angle when the vehicle operates at 15 km/h.
This value is smaller than the ideal condition. That is caused by the
same control without torque distribution of the in-wheel motor,
which agrees with the co-simulation results in Fig. 17.
ii. ED model verification

5.2.2 ED and DAS testing: To further verify the co-simulation The vehicle yaw rate is used as the target by the vehicle
model, ED and DAS testing are carried out under snake testing. controller for the torque distribution. The road testing speed shown
in Fig. 21 illustrates the speed keeps 15 km/h after 20 s. The speed
i. Without torque distribution trough at ∼45 s is also caused by the bulge on the test road.

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Fig. 14  Vehicle speed of road testing Fig. 17  Vehicle yaw rate

Fig. 15  Steering wheel angle Fig. 18  Vehicle speed of road testing without torque distribution

Fig. 16  Comparison of steering torque Fig. 19  Steering torque without torque distribution

The additional yaw rate shown in Fig. 22 is produced by the

vehicle controller based on the pedal signal when ED system
works, which has some certain assistance effect in steering.
However, there is still a gap to the results of the ideal steering
torque.
It can be seen from Fig. 23 that the amplitude of the vehicle
yaw rate is appropriate at 0.1 rad/s when the vehicle operates at 15 
km/h. Also, the actual yaw rate tracks well with the ideal value.
The effectiveness and reasonableness of the co-simulation model
are verified by the ED system.

1. DAS model verification

The steering torque is used as the target by the vehicle

controller for the torque distribution. The road testing speed shown
in Fig. 24 illustrates the speed keeps 15 km/h after 20 s. The speed
trough at ∼40s is also caused by the bulge on the test road.
Fig. 20  Vehicle yaw rate without torque distribution
The in-wheel motor torque is distributed by the vehicle
controller based on the steering torque when DAS system works.

IET Intell. Transp. Syst. 7

© The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2018
Fig. 21  Vehicle speed of road testing with ED system
Fig. 22  Steering torque with ED system
Fig. 23  Vehicle yaw rate with ED system
The assistance effect can be obviously seen from Fig. 25. It is
found that the steering torque curve under road testing can track
well with the ideal steering torque.
Fig. 26 shows the vehicle yaw rate curve with DAS control.
It can be seen from Fig. 26 that the amplitude of the vehicle
yaw rate is appropriate 0.13 rad/s when the vehicle operates at 15  simulation and road testing results. The co-simulation model
km/h. Also, there is a tiny error between the actual yaw rate and the
ideal value. That means the DAS does not have an obvious
influence on the vehicle speed differential. The effectiveness and
reasonableness of the co-simulation model are verified by the DAS
system.
6 Conclusion
The 11-DOF model of IWMD EV is established with Carsim in
this study according to the dynamic equation. The in-wheel motor
model, driver model, tyre model, steering model, braking model,
suspension model, aerodynamic model, and road surface model are
built with Matlab/Simulink and Carsim. The co-simulation model
8 IET Intell. Transp. Syst.
Fig. 24  Vehicle speed of road testing with DAS system
Fig. 25  Steering torque with DAS system
Fig. 26  Vehicle yaw rate with DAS system
of IWMD EV is established to take full advantages of Carsim and
Simulink. The D2P-based rapid prototype of IWMD EV is
developed. The effectiveness and reasonableness of the co-
simulation model is verified through the comparison of the
studied in this paper provides a solid foundation for the path-
tracking and self-driving control of IWMD intelligent vehicle in
the future.
7 Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by the Natural Science Foundation
of Jiangsu Province (BK20160525), the Open Research Subject of
Key Laboratory of Vehicle Measurement, Control and Safety of
Sichuan Province (SZJJ2017-076), the Primary Research &
Development Plan of Jiangsu Province (BE2017129) and the Initial
Funding for Advanced Talents at Jiangsu University (15JDG164).
© The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2018
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