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