Controller Design for AWD and eLSD Systems Using a Control Allocation Method

This paper proposes an integrated control allocation method for a vehicle equipped with all-wheel drive (AWD) and an electronic limited-slip differential (eLSD). Unlike those of electric drive systems, the admissible clutch inputs of AWD and eLSD systems vary with drivetrain structure, engine torque, and vehicle operating conditions. To address this issue, a weighted least squares (WLS) control allocation framework is designed to coordinate the transfer clutch and the left/right eLSD clutches while considering physically derived input constraints. The proposed controller is evaluated using a CarSim–Simulink AWD-eLSD vehicle model under acceleration during steady-state cornering and double-lane-change maneuvers on high- and medium-friction road surfaces. The simulation results show that the proposed method improves yaw-rate tracking while maintaining small sideslip angles and bounded rear-wheel slip ratios compared with uncontrolled and maximum-eLSD-input cases. In addition, the proposed control allocation method requires substantially lower computation time than an MPC-based approach, supporting its suitability for real-time AWD and eLSD control applications.