Development of an adaptive active trailer steering system for long combination vehicles

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Long combination vehicles (LCVs) are increasingly used on highways across Canada. An LCV consists of a tractor and two trailers, the length of each trailer is 16.2 m, and the total length of the vehicle can be 40 m. Two main configurations of LCVs are A- and B-train. Compared with a tractor/semi-trailer combination, the use of an LCV can result in 45% reduction in mileage travelled, 30% drop in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and 40% decrease in road wear. However, A-trains exhibit low lateral stability, B-trains show poor maneuverability, and the unsatisfactory directional performance of LCVs may lead to traffic accidents. The geometric features of existing highway ramps/interchanges were designed during the 1950s-70s without adequately considering the performance measures of LCVs. Due to the poor directional performance, LCVs are only allowed to travel on designated Ontario highway sections. Canada's long and severe winter patterns further degrade LCV safety. We believe that developing an adaptive active trailer steering (AATS) system for LCVs will have a multifold impact on Canadians by allowing the trucking industry and road systems to benefit from the positive effects of these vehicles, e.g., lower shipping costs, lighter environmental impact, and reduced road damage, while mitigating the adverse risks of increased traffic accidents and congestion. The proposed project aims at developing the AATS technology to improve the low-speed maneuverability of B-trains and enhance the high-speed lateral stability of A-trains. Built upon our previous investigations on active trailer steering, the AATS system will be developed with distinguished features in terms of high reliability, adaptability to operating condition variation, and fault-tolerant design. We will develop the innovative AATS technology by performing interrelated investigations: 1) exploring adaptive and fault-tolerant control of active trailer steering; and 2) fabricating AATS prototypes and validating the technology based on driver-hardware-in-the-loop real-time simulation. The research will resolve the problems that are impeding the AATS technology from becoming a marketable product.