Automatic control and stability analysis of a novel stepper motor-driven orbitrol valve operated articulated steering mechanism

The article explores the automatic control and stability analysis of a novel stepper motor-driven orbitrol valve (SMDOV) integrated into the steering mechanism of an articulated vehicle. In this innovative system, the steering column of the orbitrol valve connects to a stepper motor via a chain-sprocket linkage. The SMDOV system is designed using MATLAB®/Simulink, with a PWM frequency signal as input and the steering cylinder’s position and velocity as output. To assess stability, we employ the Routh–Hurwitz stability criteria and analyze the system’s steering response using the Bode concept. For automatic position control of the steering cylinder, we compare three controllers: conventional PID, model predictive controller (MPC), and cascade PID control. Our investigation reveals that the cascade PID control outperforms both MPC and conventional PID controllers, achieving a remarkable position error percentage of approximately 3%; whereas, conventional PID and MPC have 11% and 6%, respectively. Overall, the proposed cost-effective and easily manageable steering arrangement holds significant promise for advancing autonomous steering operations in articulated vehicles.