Outstanding running performance of front-and-rear-wheel-independent-drive-type electric vehicle (FRID EV) under various transient running conditions

This study elucidates the outstanding running performance that a front-and-rear-wheel independent-drive-type electric vehicle (FRID EV) provides under various transient running conditions. In particular, this study elucidates the FRID EV´s ability to perform well against running conditions such as changes in the front and rear longitudinal forces during acceleration and deceleration and changes in the road surface conditions such as a split-friction coefficient road during running, which causes imbalanced forces (lateral forces) between the left and right wheels. Both these issues are resolved by the drive structure of the FRID EV. For resolving the former issue, the drive structure mutually controls the front and rear longitudinal forces independently. For resolving the latter issue, the drive structure mutually controls the lateral forces between the left and right wheels dependently. Through simulations and experiments performed using a prototype FRID EV with actual specifications, it is shown that the outstanding running performance of the FRID EV, suitable for next-generation EVs, can be achieved from the features of the drive structure of the FRID EV.