Title: An overview of control schemes for improving the lateral stability of car-trailer combinations

Authors: Smitha Vempaty; Yuping He; Lin Zhao

Addresses: Department of Automotive, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, Ontario, L1H 7K4, Canada ' Department of Automotive, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, Ontario, L1H 7K4, Canada ' Department of Automotive, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, Ontario, L1H 7K4, Canada

Abstract: This paper reviews the state-of-the-art control schemes for enhancing the lateral stability of car-trailer (CT) combinations. Various studies have been conducted on lateral stability control of single-unit vehicles, e.g., cars. However, much less attention has been paid to lateral stability control of multi-unit vehicles, e.g., CT, which usually exhibit poor manoeuvrability in curved-path negotiations and low lateral stability under high-speed evasive manoeuvres. The low lateral stability may lead to unstable motion modes, e.g., trailer-sway and jackknifing, causing severe accidents. To improve the lateral stability, various control schemes were designed considering relevant performance measures and evaluated using either numerical simulations or testing methods. Thus, the topics surveyed in this paper include: directional performance measures, evaluation methods, important parameters affecting the directional performance, and active control approaches for CT combinations. Important control schemes are emphasised and their features discussed and analysed. As a result of the overview, future research efforts are identified.

Keywords: car-trailer combinations; lateral stability control; control actuations; vehicle-unit based control; control algorithm design; robust controllers; directional performance measures; evaluation methods; parametric studies; unstable motion modes; linear quadratic regulation; gain-scheduling control; slide mode control; μ synthesis; model reference adaptive control.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVP.2020.106985

International Journal of Vehicle Performance, 2020 Vol.6 No.2, pp.151 - 199

Received: 16 Feb 2019
Accepted: 10 Oct 2019
Published online: 29 Apr 2020 *

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