2019 International Seminar on Intelligent Technology and Its Applications (ISITIA)

Modeling and Simulation of Independent Speed

Steering Control for Front In-wheel in EV Using
BLDC Motor in MATLAB GUI

Chhith Chhlonh Dedet Candra Riawan Heri Suryoatmojo

Department of Electrical Engineering Department of Electrical Engineering Department of Electrical Engineering
Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember
Surabaya, Indonesia Surabaya, Indonesia Surabaya, Indonesia
chhith68@gmail.com dedet@ee.its.ac.id suryomgt@ee.its.ac.id

Abstract— Currently, electric vehicles (EV) have become
more popular in research because of issues of the environmental
pollution and the running out of fossil fuel. This research
presents a strategy of independent speed steering control for two
front in-wheel BLDC motors while an EV drives on a straight
road as well as on a curved road. When the EV runs on a straight
road, each front wheel has the same rotating speed. However, on
a curved road, the outer wheel has the rotating speed higher
than the inner wheel. Ackermann-Jeantand steering model is
used to determine the reference speed for each front wheel of the
EV during turning motion when a certain steering angle and EV
speed are inputted. The fuzzy logic controller (FLC) has been
designed to control the speed of each motor to reach the desired
speed. Hysteresis current controller is introduced to generate
the switching signals for each switch device in the power
inverter. A Graphical User Interface (GUI) is created in
MATLAB to control the overall system. Three different cases of
simulation have been done and the results are satisfying with the
response. The results demonstrated that the control system has
worked properly.
The other research is proposed in [7] by using PI-Fuzzy logic
controller for 3 phase BLDC motor for the EV application. In
[8], the author has been proposed the selection of electric
motor drives for the EV, it mentioned several types of motor
drives on EV.
In this paper, a BLDC motor is attached to each front
wheel of EV as shown in Fig. 1 and it is called in-wheel direct
drive. Speed of the motor in each front wheel is independently
controlled by using fuzzy logic controller. The Ackermann-
Jeantand steering model has been employed to determine the
reference speed of each front wheel when the EV drives on a
straight road, turned to the left side or turned to the right side
on a curved road with a certain steering angle and vehicle
speed. Hysteresis current controller is used to generate
switching signals for switch devices in power inverter. The
GUI’s interface is designed in the MATLAB tool to command
the control system.

Keywords— Independent speed steering control, Front in-

wheel BLDC motor, Ackermann-Jeantand steering model, FLC,
MATLAB GUI

I. INTRODUCTION
Growing of conveyances have treated to environment
pollution and human health. These transportations are using
the limited fossil fuel from the earth which will be running out
someday. Hence, it is a challenge to all researchers to respond
to reduce this issue especially pollution by vehicles.
Conventional vehicles have heavy and bulky systems which
contain the powertrain caused to have mechanical losses
during processing and they use the fuel for the engine working
[1]. Thus, trying to use battery instead of fuel is an innovation.
Many papers have been done with an independent drive
system of EVs. The Ackerman geometry in the mechanical
system is applied to electronic independent four wheels
steering system has been done in [2]. In [3], the author has
been finished with the modeling and simulation of electronic
differential system (EDS) for dual-front-wheel and also,
compared the results with Codesys Software Package.
Differential speed steering control for four-wheel independent
driving electric vehicle has been described in [4]. In [5], the
modeling and simulation of electronic differential system for
an electric vehicle at rear-wheel drive based on fuzzy logic
controller by controlling independently torque of the motor. A
comprehensive control strategy of speed and torque based on
Neural Networks PID electronic differential is proposed in [6].
Fig.1. Front in-wheel motor driven of an EV
The paper has been prepared contain with main sections
as following: the Ackermann-Jeantand steering model is
presented in section II, the modeling of BLDC motor is
illustrated in section III. In section IV and V have explained
the design of FLC and hysteresis current controller. The
control schematic and simulation results are discussed in
section VI and the conclusion is given in section VII.
II. ACKERMANN-JEANTAND STEERING MODEL
In the 19th century, a researcher name Rudolf Ackerman
has discovered a new geometric model called Ackermann-
Jeantand steering model (Fig. 2) or Electronic Differential
System (EDS) for a vehicle during steering in a curved road.
The principle of this model is the relationship between the
inner wheel and outer wheel in a curved road, it also can be
applied to all vehicles whatever two wheels stering or four
wheels steering [2]. In a curved road, the inner wheel speed
must be less than the outer wheel speed. When the vehicle
turned with an angle  , the inner and outer steering angle of
each front wheel is found as the following equations [3]:

978-1-7281-3749-0/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE 270

 Fig. 3. References speed computation algorithm

In Fig. 3 illustrates the algorithm of how to determine the

reference speed each front wheel from the inputs steering
angle (  ) and vehicle speed ( V ). Since it is in-wheel type then
the angular rotating speed of the motor and angular rotating
speed of wheel are remained the same, thus:
Fig. 2. Ackermann-Jeantand steering model
ref _Lm = ref _ L ; ref _ Rm = ref _ R (8)
 L tan   (1)
1 = arctan   Or nref _Lm = nref _ L nref _ Rm = nref _ R (9)
 L − ( tan  . ( K 2 ) ) 
;

III. MODELING OF BLDC MOTOR

 L tan   (2)
 2 = arctan   The BLDC motor drive circuit is demonstrated in Fig 4.
 L + ( tan  . ( K 2 ) )  The modeling is based on these assumptions [9]: concentrated
windings are selected with wye-connection and 120 degrees
The angular rotating speed for inner, outer front wheel and
from each other, the resistance and self-inductance of
the center point when the vehicle turned on a curved road can
windings are remained to be constant, the saturation of
be found at:
magnetic and iron losses are ignored.
V .R1 ; V .R2 ; V
1 = 2 = ref = (3)
Rcg .r Rcg .r r

During steering motion, each front wheel has their own

turning radius and they can be defined as:
L ; L (4)
R1 = R2 =
sin (1 ) sin ( 2 )

The gravity center radius of the vehicle is:

(( d 2) + R ) + ( L 2)
2
Rcg =
2
r 3
(5) Fig. 4. BLDC motor drive circuit

Where: L is the distance between the front and rear wheel, The matrix of voltage equations for BLDC motor can be
K is the distance from left to right kingpin, r is the radius of written as:
the wheel, V is vehicle speed. Va   R 0 0  ia   L 0 0  ia  ea 
There is a condition that can be assumed for the steering V  =  0 R 0  i  + d  0 L 0   i  +  e  (10)
 b    b  dt    b  b
angle  , where:
Vc   0 0 R  ic   0 0 L  ic   ec 
  0 turned left Where: Va , Vb , Vc are phase voltages, R is stator resistance,

 = 0 straight (6) ia , ib , ic are phase currents of motor, L is self-inductance and
  0
 turned rigth ea , eb , ec are trapezoidal back EMF of each phase. Under the
assumptions, these back EMF waveforms must be identical.
From (3), (4), and (5), the speed change between inner and
The back EMF for each phase can be expressed as the function
outer wheel can be written as: of rotor angle  e [in electrical degree] [10]:
VL ( (1 sin  2 ) − (1 sin 1 ) ) ( 6 E  ) e
 = (7) ( 0  e   6 )

( L tan  ) + ( L 2 ) ( 6  e  5 6 )
2 2
r E
 (11)
This speed change is used to add or subtract with the ea = − ( 6 E  ) e + 6 E ( 5 6  e  7 6 )

angular rotating speed at the center of vehicle ref to achieve
− E ( 7 6  e  11 6 )
reference speed of each front wheel (ref _ L , ref _R ) . ( 6 E  ) − 12 E (11 6   e  2 )
 e

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 − E ( 0  e   2 ) A. Membership Function
 These inputs ‘e’ and ‘∆e’ are designed to contain seven
 ( 6 E  )e − 4 E ( 2   e  5 6 ) (12) membership functions which are PB, PM, PS, ZE, NS, NM,

eb =  E ( 5 6  e  9 6 ) NB. Similar to the ‘output’ which contains seven membership
 functions. The range values of e, ∆e, and output are [-160
− ( 6 E  )  e + 10 E ( 9 6   e  11 6 )
E 160], [-3 3] and [-300 300] respectively. It is used trial and
 (11 6  e  2 ) error method many times to get those values. The
membership functions of e, ∆e, and output are proposed in
E ( 0  e   6 ) Fig. 6, 7, 8 using the MATLAB tool.

 − ( 6 E  )e + 2 E ( 6   e   2 ) (13)

ec = − E ( 2  e  7 6 )

( 6 E  )  e − 8 E ( 7 6   e  9 6 )
E ( 9 6  e  2 )

Where: E = K b .m is the amplitude, K b is the back EMF
constant and m is rotor speed. The relationship between the
rotor angle  e in electrical degree and the rotor angle in the
Fig. 6. Membership functions of input ‘e’
mechanical degree are expressed as:
P
e = m (14)
2
The electromagnetic torque can be defined as:

 P  e i + e i + e i 
Te =    a a b b c c  (15)
 2  e 
ea ia + ebib + ec ic
Or Te = (16) Fig. 7. Membership functions of input ‘∆e’
m
The motion equation can be written as:
d
J m = Te − TL − Bm (17)
dt
Where: J is moment inertia, TL is load torque, B is
damping, and P is number of pols pairs.
IV. FUZZY LOGIC CONTROLLER DESIGN
Presently, fuzzy logic controller becomes more widely Fig. 8. Membership functions of output
usage in the automation and control system. It is known to
handle nonlinearities and uncertainties without need B. Rules Base
mathematical model [11]. The block model of the fuzzy logic According to the number of membership functions, forty-
controller is illustrated in Fig. 5. There are two inputs into the nine rules are created which are shown in TABLE I. It is
controller which are error (e) and its change (∆e). In this noted that these rules obtained base on human’s experience.
controller, it contains three main steps. First step is
fuzzification, in this part, the crisp values inputted from error TABLE I. FUZZY LOGIC RULES BASED
and its change are fuzzified into the linguistic variables. After
that, the second step is rules base, it contains the rules IF- ∆e
e
THEN to determine the output linguistic variables. The last PB PM PS ZE NS NM NB
step is defuzzification, since the outputs from the rules base PB PB PB PB PB PM PS PS
are linguistic variables, then the defuzzifier converts these PM PB PM PM PM PS PS NS
linguistic variables into crisp values by using the calculating
the center of gravity of the fuzzy output method. PS PB PM PS PS PS NS NM
ZE PB PM PS ZE NS NM NB
NS PM PS NS NS NS NM NB
NM PS NS NS NM NM NM NB
NB NS NS NM NB NB NB NB

V. HYSTERRESIS CURRENT CONTROLLER DESIGN

In this controller, the variables have controlled the value
Fig. 5. Model of fuzzy logic controller
to stay within the reference value. It is explained that when

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the actual current lower than the reference current then the
switch is “ON” and in contrast, when the actual current
exceeds the reference current then the switch is “OFF”. The
hysteresis band in this work have been set within [-0.1 0.1].
Fig. 9 show the diagram of the hysteresis current controller in
MATLAB/SIMULINK.
at steady state condition. The simulation has been carried out
with three different modes: the EV runs on the curved road to
the left side  = −15 , it runs on the curved road to the right
side  = 15 , and the steering angle change from  = 15 to
 = −15 instantaneously with the EV speed V = 30 km / h .
All the results will be displayed in GUI’s interface. The motor
parameters and EV parameters are provided at the left bottom
side of the interface. It is noticed that the load torque 3 N.m
has been applied to each motor at the starting time each case.

A. The EV Steered to the Left Side  = −15

In this case, the EV runs on a curved road to the left side
with a constant linear speed ( V = 30 km / h ) and a steering
Fig. 9. Hysteresis current controller block diagram
angle (  = −15 ). Thus, the speed wheel on right side must
The decode signals are derived from Hall effect signals be higher than the speed wheel on left side. The results on the
(Ha, Hb, Hc) which are represented as in TABLE II. GUI’s interface in Fig. 11, the first column shows the linear
speeds (km/h) and motor speeds (rpm) respectively. Refer to
TABLE II. PHASE SWITCHING ARRANGEMENT the motor speed (rpm), at t = 0s , the steering angle is  = 0
Hall Sensors Phase A Phase B Phase C . From (3), the rotating reference speed each front motor has
been determined to 201.46 rpm . These reference speeds are
000 OFF OFF OFF
used as the reference speed of the motor. After both motor
100 + OFF -
speeds reached to the desired speeds, at t = 0.1s , the steering
110 OFF + -
angle is changed to  = −15 . By using (3) and (7), the new
010 - + OFF reference speed each front left and right side of the motor has
011 - OFF + been found as: 187.62 rpm and 215.3rpm ( 27.6 rpm speed
001 OFF - + difference) corresponding. In this case, the left motor works
101 + - OFF in a braking mode by developing a negative torque to reduce
111 OFF OFF OFF the left speed motor. In contrast, the right motor has produced
a positive torque for increasing the right speed motor. Once,
VI. CONTROL SCHEMATIC AND RESULTS both motor speeds are stabilized, the torque return to its initial
value. The results have illustrated that both motors reach the
The schematic of the control system is presented in Fig. desired speed successfully with a very small speed error. At
10. To evaluate the ability of these controllers, these two t = 0.3s , the driver makes an inverse steering angle to be
BLDC motors are simulated in MATLAB/SIMULINK zero, thus, the speed of the motor act in the same manner to
environment. The control system has some assumptions make the speed difference backward to zero. The second and
during simulating: all the longitudinal, lateral force and the third columns are results of current, torque, EMF, and hall of
slipping over the traction wheels are ignored, the vehicle each motor at the left and right side of the wheel.
drive at a low speed on a curved road, the results are analyzed

Fig. 10. Control schematic

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Fig. 11. Results of simulation when the EV turns to the left side
Fig. 12. Results of simulation when the EV turns to the right side
B. The EV Steered to the Right Side  = 15
Similar to the first case but, the EV drives on a curved
road turn to the right-side with a low speed ( V = 30 km / h )
and steering angle (  = 15 ). Fig. 12 presents the results of
the simulation. The wheel speed on the left side is larger than
the wheel speed on the right side by using Ackermann-
Jeatand steering model equations. Referred to the wheel
speed (km/h), the linear speed at the left wheel increase to
32.06km / h and the linear speed at the right wheel decrease to
27.94km / h when the steering angle is changed to  = 15 at
274
t = 0.1s . It is proportional to the motor speed (rpm), two new
reference speeds have been calculated to 215.3rpm and
187.62 rpm (speed difference 27.6 rpm ) for left motor and
right motor respectively, it is opposite with the first case. The
results depict that the actual speed of both motors can follow
their own reference speed with a fast respond without
overshoot or undershoot that means the controllers have
abilities to work properly. At t = 0.3s , the steering angle is
back to zero then both reference speeds have been
recalculated again to be the same.
Fig. 13. The EV turns from the right side to the left side
C. The Steering Angle Changed from  = 15 to  = −15
The last case of simulation is first the EV drives on a
straight road then the EV steered the right side (  = 15 ) after
this the EV steered the left side (  = −15 ) instantaneously.
The results of the simulation have been shown in Fig. 13. It
can be explained that after the motor reached the reference
speed 201.46 rpm, the steering angle  = 15 is applied at
t = 0.1s . Therefore, two reference speeds 215.3 rpm and
187.62 rpm have been set to the left and right side motors
respectively. Then at t = 0.2s , the angle changed from
 = 15 to  = −15 , hence, these reference speeds are
computed again which are 187.62 rpm and 215.3rpm for
left and right-side motors correspondingly. Finally, at
t = 0.3s , the angle is changed to  = 0 . Consequently, the
motor speeds turn back to the initial value.
VII. CONCLUSION
This paper presented two front in-wheel direct drive type
using BLDC motors with fuzzy logic speed controllers. Three
different cases of the simulation are provided and the results
are satisfying with the response. The reference speed of each
front wheel can be determined successfully using
Ackermann-Jeantand steering model equations. The results
show that fuzzy logic controller works correctly to adjust the
actual speed to reach the desired speed with fast respond, very
small speed error and no overshoot/undershoot. The overall
control system can be controlled properly in the GUI’s
interface. The future work will be the experiment to verify the
results with the simulation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author would like to acknowledge to Institut Teknologi
Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), all of the advisors to assist and encourage
the author. This research is supported by AUN/SEED-Net program.
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