Fuzzy Backstepping Control to Enhance Electric Power Steering System Performance

Abstract

The Electric Power Steering (EPS) system performs exceptionally well in ensuring safety and stability when steering. Although the robust Backstepping Control (BSC) technique is highly effective in controlling the system, it still has drawbacks regarding system errors and phase delays. A new combination called Fuzzy Backstepping Control (FBSC) is established in this work to eliminate the influence of error and phase difference phenomena, which is considered a new contribution to the paper. The input of the fuzzy algorithm is the systematic error and its derivative. At the same time, the fuzzy output is synthesized with a reference signal to become a new reference signal for the BSC technique. The stability of the control method is evaluated based on the Lyapunov criterion, while the system performance is evaluated according to the simulation process. According to the research findings, the value obtained from the proposed controller tends to closely follow the reference value with minor errors, and the phase delay phenomenon is almost completely eliminated. System performance is ensured under various simulation conditions, even when inputs (velocity and driver torque) change. Overall, the fuzzy backstepping control algorithm proposed in this work can maintain stability and improve the system’s adaptability under different steering conditions.

Keywords

• Electric power steering
• backstepping control
• fuzzy control
• steering column angle
• steering motor angle