Tractor-Semitrailer Vehicle Stability Control Based on TruckSim-Simulink Co-Simulation

Abstract

A nonlinear tractor-semitrailer vehicle simulation model is established based on TruckSim used to validate the proposed control scheme. The yaw dynamics of the entire vehicle is stabilized by applying differential braking to the wheels of the tractor and the trailer. The control system, which was designed in Matlab/Simulink, is a two-level structure with the upper yaw moment controller outputting an additional yaw moment and the lower control allocator realizing the additional yaw moment by appropriately coordinating the wheel brake actions of the tractor and the trailer. A Trucksim-Simulink co-simulation model is constructed, and based on which the proposed control scheme is validated by a single-lane change maneuver on a slippery road. Simulation results reveal that designing and evaluating vehicle stability control strategies with the TruckSim-Simulink co-simulation method is effective. The proposed control scheme can significantly improve the vehicle yaw stability and roll stability.