A Coordinated Control Scheme for Active Safety Systems of Multi-trailer Articulated Heavy Vehicles

This paper presents a coordinated control scheme for active safety systems (ASSs) of multi-trailer articulated heavy vehicles (MTAHVs). The coordinated control system consists of the subsystems of active trailer steering (ATS), trailer differential braking (TDB), and anti-roll control (ARC). For the purpose of exploring the coordinated control technique, this study selects an MTAHV with the configuration of B-train double. To design the coordinated control system, a linear yaw-roll vehicle model is generated. The corresponding nonlinear yaw-roll model is developed using a multi-body dynamic software in order to simulate the dynamics of the MTAHV. The coordinated control scheme is designed in a hierarchical structure; the motion controls at different levels thus may be devised modularly. To evaluate the applicability and effectiveness of the coordinated control system, closed-loop simulations are conducted by combining the virtual MTAHV, the coordinated ASS control system, and a lateral preview driver model.