Distributed Motion Control for Multi-Trailer Vehicles
Research Project, 2021 – 2024

Electrification of trucks, trailers and dollies created a lot of new possibilities to control long vehicle combinations. Such combinations are over-actuated with many propelled, steerable, liftable axles hence it is possible to achieve the most optimal control allocation by solving a control allocation problem. Maximizing safety and minimizing the energy consumption are the ultimate aims for such optimization problem. Furthermore, long vehicle combination can be decoupled into 2 parts for increased manoeuvrability at the roundabouts and coupled back later. To control such vehicles, a novel motion control strategy is needed.

In this project, a generic motion control strategy that allocates the global force request to individual actuators for a multi-trailer vehicle combination will be developed.

 

Research Questions:

• Is it possible to generate B-matrix for each unit and combine them to a control a multi-unit vehicle?
• Or alternatively, should there be a higher level controller that controls global force allocation to each unit and another lower level controller that allocates the control inputs to each actuator within each unit?
• How should the coupling forces be controlled?
• What is the best way to relate coupling force control to individual wheel forces control?
• How to automatically couple and decouple a long vehicle combination to smaller combinations?

 

Deliverables:

• Answers to research questions
• 1 Vehicle Dynamics PhD, employed in Swedish Vehicle Industry

Participants

Mats Jonasson (contact)

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Vehicle Engineering and Autonomous Systems

Umur Erdinc

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Vehicle Engineering and Autonomous Systems

Jonas Fredriksson

Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Systems and control

Bengt J H Jacobson

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Vehicle Engineering and Autonomous Systems

Leo Laine

Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2)

Collaborations

VBG GroupTruck Equipment AB

Vänersborg, Sweden

Volvo

Göteborg, Sweden

Funding

FFI - Strategic Vehicle Research and Innovation

Project ID: 2020-05144
Funding Chalmers participation during 2021–2024

Related Areas of Advance and Infrastructure

Transport

Areas of Advance

ReVeRe (Research Vehicle Resource)

Infrastructure

Publications

More information

Latest update

2022-03-17