Introducing a Yaw Rate-Based Control System for Adjusting the Camber Angle of the Front Wheels on a Prototype Vehicle

In this paper, we present the design and the development of an active control system for adjusting the front wheels' camber angle of an electric prototype vehicle according to the instant yaw rate measurement. The vehicle is equipped with a simple independent suspension structure, where each wheel is attached to the vehicle body through an upper and a lower arm. With the proposed mechanism in place, the upper arms of the front wheels can be translated horizontally, adjusting the camber angle of the front wheels. Conforming to the theory, the proper camber angle adjustment can reduce the camber thrust, improving the yaw rate and accordingly the lateral acceleration of the vehicle, which are directly associated with its stability and traction. Based on this hypothesis, simple circular maneuvers with constant longitudinal velocity and steering angle were designed for the mathematical proof of concept. In accordance with the experimental results, the proposed system, on average, improves the yaw rate by approximately 10%, enhancing the vehicle capacity to navigate corners at higher speeds.