Comparison of Traction Controllers for Electric Vehicles with On-Board Drivetrains

Extensive literature discusses traction control system designs for electric vehicles. In general, the proposed control structures do not include consideration of the actuation dynamics, which are especially important for vehicles with on-board drivetrains, usually characterized by significant torsional dynamics of the half-shafts. This paper compares the performance of a selection of traction controllers from the literature, with that of PID and H∞ control structures specifically designed for on-board electric drivetrains. The analysis in the frequency domain and the simulation results in the time domain show the significant performance improvement provided by the control system designs considering the actuation dynamics.