ICCAS2005 June 2-5, KINTEX, Gyeonggi-Do, Korea

Steering Wheel Torque Control of Electric Power Steering by PD-Control

Du-Yeol Pang*, Bong-Choon Jang** and Seong-Cheol Lee***

* Graduate of Mechanical Engineering , Chonbuk National University, JeonJu, Korea

(Tel : +82-10-4651-6809; E-mail: [email protected])
**Department of Mechanical Engineering, Andong National University, Andong, Korea
(Tel : +82-54-820-6158; E-mail: [email protected])
*** Department of Mechanical Engineering, RCIT, Chonbuk National University, JeonJu, Korea
(Tel : +82-63-270-2320; E-mail: [email protected])

Abstract: As the development of microprocessor technology, electric power steering (EPS) system which uses an electric motor came
to use a few years ago. It can solve the problems associated with hydraulic power steering. The motor only operates when steering
assistance is needed, so it can save fuel and can reduce weight and cost by eliminating hydraulic pump and piping. As one of
performance criteria of EPS systems, the transmissibility from road wheel load to steering wheel torque is considered in the paper.
The transmissibility can be studied by fixing the steering wheel and calculating the torque needed to hold the steering wheel from road
wheel load. A proportion-plus-derivative control is needed for EPS systems to generate desired static torque boost and avoid
transmissibility of fluctuation. A pure proportion control can't satisfy both requirements.
Keywords: electric power steering(EPS), column-type electric power steering(CEPS), electric control unit(ECU), torque boost,
transmissibility, fluctuation, proportion-plus-derivative control(PD-control)

1. INTRODUCTION midget-class cars which have a small-capacity engine (660cc),

where fuel efficiency is important and it can save space in
Automobile market has faced with innovation of power engine room layout because motor and reduction gear are
steering. Manual steering system was used in the beginning, incorporated and installed in interior[4,5].
but it makes driver laborious and needs much effort. Hydraulic EPS system has electric control unit (ECU) to calculate
power steering system had been used in past 50 years since optimum assist torque based upon torque sensor and vehicle
Delphi developed hydraulic powering steering in the middle of speed sensor, to output the calculation results to power unit.
1950s[9]. Hydraulic power steering system uses oil pressure as And power unit drive a motor according to signal issued by
a power source, so it must always retain oil pressure from the control unit[6,7].
engine power, so it becomes fuel consuming and needed lots Tokumoto[11] in Koyo has proposed next-generation torque
of components like hydraulic pump, hoses, hydraulic fluids, sensor for EPS that can detect steering torque and steering
and drive belt and pulley on engine. angle and the developed sensor can used not only for EPS
As the development of microprocessor, power electronics power assistance control but also for safety cruise control and
and high power motor technologies, electric power steering intelligent driving of the vehicle. Chen[12] in Hermes
(hereafter called EPS) system which uses an electric motor Technologies shows the effectiveness of derivative term of
came to use a few years ago[6,7]. It can solve the problems torque sensor with simplified EPS model. Kohno[13] in
associated with hydraulic power steering. The motor only Toyota has been confirmed that H∞ control is valid as a basic
operates when steering assistance is needed i.e. power on logic for EPS system and then shows robustness is validated
demand, so it is energy efficient and environmentally by manufactured prototype. Pryjmak[14] proposed following
compatible while offering extras like simplified tuning, method to reduce motor armature inertia effects with P-gain.
packaging, flexibility, and engine-off steering assist[9]. Implement the lowest possible armature and use brushless DC
motor with permanent magnet field in rotor and armature
winding in the stator, and use new rare earth material in the
rotor to achieve greater torque capability and connect the
motor gear box to the steering rack through a bidirectional one
way input lock up clutch. Oshita[8] in Fuji shows that can
enhance the stability by proportional gain. Shimizu[7] in
Honda adopts ball-screw type EPS for sports car NSX and
shows steering torque characteristics can be enhanced by
Fig. 1 CEPS and the following EPS configurations. using steering torque and steering angular velocity gain.
In this paper, CEPS system is modeled in consideration of
EPS systems are called EPS(electric power steering non-linear parameter such as Coulomb friction. As one of the
system), EPAS(electric power assisted steering system) and design criteria of EPS system, it can be considered that
MDPS(motor driven power steering system) according to driver’s steering wheel torque which is transmitted from road
manufacturers but the basic organizations and principles are wheel load. The transmissibility from road wheel load to
similar. EPS systems can be categorized as Fig. 1 according to steering wheel can be studied by fixing the steering wheel and
the location of power assist, i.e. column-type EPS, pinion-type calculating the torque needed to hold steering wheel. So with
EPS, rack-type EPS and electrically powered hydraulic the proper control algorithm of ECU, assisted power must
steering system (EPHS). Column-type electric power steering alleviate external load, so driver could be felt pleasant without
(hereafter called CEPS) system is generally applied to losing road information.

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A proportional-plus-derivative control can generate desired converting difference of twisted angle to electric signal. The
static torque boost and avoid fluctuation. A pure proportional motor is attached in steering column through reduction gear
control can't satisfy both requirements. So it needs both box. ECU calculates motor target current from the signal of
derivative and proportional term of torque sensor in the EPS torque sensor and vehicle velocity. So the calculated torque is
control to generate proper torque boost and to eliminate applied to steering column by motor through reduction gear.
fluctuation. The transmissibility of CEPS system from road wheel load to
driver’s hand wheel can be investigated by calculating driver’s
hand wheel torque while fixing hand wheel. The equation of
hand wheel is like Eq. (1), and displacement, velocity and
Hand Wheel acceleration of hand wheel is zero by assuming fixed hand
JSW, BSW,θSW,TSW
wheel that is θ SW = θ&SW = θ&&SW = 0 .
Torque Sensor Electric
Control Unit
Steering Column Torque J SW θ&&SW + BSW θ&SW + K SC (θ SW − θ SC ) = TSW , (1)
JSC,BSC,KSC,θSC
Supply
Reduction Gear Tm Voltage And, equilibrium equation of steering column is Eq. (2),

Pinion
N1 J eqθ&&SC + B1θ&SC + K SC (θ SC − θ SW ) = Tm − TP , (2)
JP,RP,ηf,ηb Motor
Jm,Bm,im,em where, Jeq is equivalent polar moment of inertia and B1 is
La,Ra,Kt,Kb
KTR equivalent viscous damping of motor, reduction gear and
Rack steering column with respect to steering column.
MR,BR,CFR,YR
Wheel & Steering Linkage By assuming dc servomotor is used, motor torque with
JFW,BFW,CFFW,KSL,θFW,NL Tire respect to steering column while neglecting inductance of
motor, is Eq. (3)

Fig.2 Column-type EPS System.

Tm =
N1 K t
Ra
(em − K b N1θ&SC ,) (3)

2. MODELLING
The motor voltage in PD-control is Eq. (4)
Typical CEPS system is shown in Fig. 2 and the major
components are a torque sensor, a motor, a reduction gear and
a ECU. Torque sensor is located between steering wheel and
( )
em = − K p (θ SC − θ SW ) − K d θ&SC − θ&SW , (4)
steering column and measures the applied torque by

Fig. 3 Block diagram of Matlab Simulink for simulation.

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The torque at pinion in Eq. (2) can be assumed as Eq. (5). required damping ratio. The transmissibility of a system with
proportion-plus-derivative control (solid line) is shown in Fig.
⎛ Y ⎞ 4 and it realizes proper torque boost in low frequency range,
TP = K TR ⎜⎜ θ SC − R ⎟,
⎟ (5) and decrease gain in high frequency range. Impulse response
⎝ RP ⎠ of proportion-plus-derivative control in time domain is shown
in Fig. 5 (solid line) and comparing with without control
By substituting Eqs. (3)-(5) into Eq.(2), Eq.(6) can be (dotted line) and proportion control (dash dotted line), the
obtained as follows. response is much improved, peak amplitude is lower and high
frequency oscillation no longer exists.
YR
J eqθ&&SC + Beqθ&SC + K eqθ SC = K TR , (6)
RP
Table 1. Physical parameters of CEPS system.
where,
Parameters Values Units
J eq = J SC + N J m ,
1
2
JSW 0.03444 kg-m2
N12 K t K b N1 K t JSC 0.03444 kg-m2
Beq = BSC + N1 Bm + + Kd , JFW 0.61463 kg-m2
Ra Ra
N1 K t Jm 3.5×10-4 kg-m2
K eq = K SC + K TR + Kp ,
Ra MR 2.0 kg
BSW 0.36042 N-m/(rad/sec)
And, equilibrium equation of steering rack bar is Eq.(7), BFW 88.128 N-m/(rad/sec)
BSC 0.36042 N-m/(rad/sec)
( )
M RY&&R + BRY&R + CFR × sgn Y&R = η F
TP
RP
T
− 2η B KL ,
NL
(7) BR 88.128 N-m/(m/sec)
Bm 0.05 N-m/(rad/sec)
And, equilibrium equation of road wheel is Eq.(8), CFR 0.04 N
CFFW 0.04 N
( )
J FW θ&&FW + BFW θ&FW + CFFW × sgn θ&FW = TKL + Text , (8) KSW 42057 N-m/rad
KSC 42057 N-m/rad
Here, torque at steering linkage is Eq.(9) KTR 42057 N-m/rad
KSL 14878 N-m/rad
⎛Y ⎞
TKL = K SL ⎜⎜ R − θ FW ⎟⎟ . (9) La 0.0001 H
⎝ NL ⎠
Ra 0.1 Ω
By using Eqs. (1)-(9), driver’s hand wheel torque TSW in Eq. Kt 0.0533 N-m/A
(1) is calculated from the input of road wheel load Text in Eq. Kb 0.0533 V/(rad/sec)
(8). Text is a unit impulse torque at road wheel. MatLab N1 49/3
Ver.6.5.1 Simulink was used for simulation and block diagram
of Simulink is shown in Fig. 3 and physical parameters are RP 0.007367 m
shown in Table. 1. NL 0.11816 m
ηF 0.985
ηB 0.985
3. SIMULATION AND RESULTS
Fig. 4 shows frequency response by using Bode diagram in
cases of without control (dotted line), proportion control (dash
dotted line) and proportion-plus-derivative control (solid line).
Proportion gain, Kp=20000 was chosen to make the
transmissibility at low frequency range equal to one fifth of
without control. In proportion control, the gain of Bode
diagram shows larger value around ω=1200rad/sec (191Hz),
which is undesirable and it makes high frequency torque
disturbance to pass through. The time responses of steering
wheel torque to a unit torque impulse at road wheel are shown
in Fig. 5. For the system with proportion control, drivers will
be felt the high frequency oscillation when road wheel endures
an impact.
The problems in proportion control can be eliminated by
using proportion-plus-derivative control. We made a choice
appropriate proportion gain (Kp=20000) to achieve desired Fig. 4 Transmissibility of column-type EPS System.
steering assistance level and derivative gain (Kd=300) to reach

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Fig. 5 Impulse response of steering wheel torque. Fig. 8 Displacement of steering rack.

Fig. 6 shows assisted motor torque with respect to steering

column at each control scheme. In the case of without control, 4. CONCLUSION
motor back-electromotive force act like a viscous damping, so
there appears small amount of damping effects in motor torque. With pure proportion control in column-type EPS system
In proportion control and proportion-plus-derivative control, can generate proper torque boost but can’t avoid high
motor assist torque to steering column through gear-box. In frequency fluctuation because of insufficiency of damping.
proportion-plus-derivative control motor torque shows smooth So to give proper damping, a proportion-plus-derivative
curve while proportion control shows fluctuation. control is needed for a column-type EPS and it can generate
desired static torque boost and avoid the high frequency
fluctuation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research was supported by the Research Center of

Industrial Technology(RCIT), Engineering Research Institute
at Chonbuk National University.

NOMENCLATURE

B1 : Equivalent viscous damping respect to steering column

including damping of motor and steering column
Fig. 6 Assisted motor torque at steering column.
(N-m/(rad/sec)).
Beq : Equivalent viscous damping respect to steering column
Fig. 7 shows steering column displacement in degree and
(N-m/(rad/sec)).
Fig. 8 shows steering rack bar displacement in mm at each
BFW : Viscous damping at steering linkage bushing
control scheme. The amount of displacement in Fig. 7 and Fig.
(N-m/(rad/sec)).
8 shows relatively small. And there is no fluctuation only in
Bm : Viscous damping of motor(N-m/(rad/sec)).
proportion-plus-derivative control.
BR : Viscous damping of steering rack(N-m/(rad/sec)).
BSC : Viscous damping of steering column(N-m/(rad/sec)).
BSW : Viscous damping of steering wheel(N-m/(rad/sec)).
CFFW: Coulomb friction breakout force on road wheel(N).
CFR : Coulomb friction breakout force on steering rack(N).
em : Motor input voltage(V).
Jeq : Equivalent moment of inertia respect with steering
column(kg-m2).
JFW : Moment of inertia of road wheel and rotation mass
about steering displacement(kg-m2).
JSC : Moment of inertia of steering column(kg-m2).
JSW : Moment of inertia of steering wheel(kg-m2).
MR : Mass of steering rack(kg).
Kb : Motor back electromagnetic force constant
(V/(rad/sec)).
Keq : Equivalent rotational stiffness respect to steering
column(N-m/rad).
Fig. 7 Displacement of steering column. Kd : Derivative gain.

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Kp : Proportional gain. [13] T. Kohno, S. Takeuchi, M. Momiyama, H. Nimura, E.
KSC : Steering column rotational stiffness(N-m/rad). Ono, and S. Asai, “Development of Electric Power
KSL : Steering rotational stiffness due to linkage and bushing Steering System with H∞ Control,” SAE 2000-01-0813,
(N-m/rad). 2000.
KSW : Steering wheel rotational stiffness(N-m/rad). [14] B. I. Pryjmak, “Simulation of Electric Power Steering
Kt : Motor torque constant(N-m/A). Armature Inertia Effects on Vehicle System Handling
KTR : Torsion bar rotational stiffness(N-m/rad). Response Using bondgraph Technology,” SAE 851639,
La : Motor armature winding inductance(H). 1983.
N1 : Motor gear box gear ratio.
NL : Steering linkage rate(m). [15] H. H. Lee and C. C. Lee, “Vision-Based Line Tracking
Ra : Motor armature winding resistance(Ω). and Steering Control of AGVs,” ICCAS 2002
RP : Radius of pinion(m). International Conference on Control, Automation and
Text : External torque at road wheel(N-m). Systems, pp.3009, 2002.
TKL : Torque at steering linkage(N-m). [16] J. H. Kim, S. H. Son, Y. C. Lim, T. G. Kim, Y. J. Ryoo
Tm : Motor torque with respect to steering column(N-m). and E. S. Kim, “Development of Fuzzy Steering
TP : Torque at pinion(N-m). Controller for Outdoor Autonomous Mobile with MR
TSW : Torque at steering wheel(N-m). Sensor,” ICCAS 2002. International Conference on
YR : Translational displacement of the rack(m). Control, Automation and Systems , pp.83, 2002.
ηB : Gear ratio efficiency of backward torque transmission.
ηF : Gear ratio efficiency of forward torque transmission.
θFW : Angular displacement of road wheel(rad).
θP : Angular displacement of pinion(rad).
θSC : Angular displacement of steering column(rad).
θSW : Angular displacement of steering wheel(rad).

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