Design of an Improved Robust Active Trailer Steering Controller for Multi-trailer Articulated Heavy Vehicles Using Software/Hardware-in-the-Loop Real-Time Simulations

This paper presents a robust active trailer steering (ATS) system for Multi-Trailer Articulated Heavy Vehicles (MTAHVs) using Software/Hardware-In-the-Loop (SHIL) Real-Time (RT) simulations. The Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) technique was applied to ATS controller designs. In the designs, vehicle parameters are assumed to be constant. In reality, these parameters may vary. Thus, the robustness of the LQR-based controllers is questioned. To address the problem, a robust controller was designed using a Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI) based LQR method. To evaluate the robustness of the LMI+LQR-based controller, the directional performance of an A-train Double was simulated [1]. However, the ATS actuator model is not realistic, and trailer payload variation was not considered. In the current research, an improved LMI+LQR-based controller is designed considering the uncertainty of a hydraulic ATS actuator and trailer payload variation. The robustness of the improved controller is demonstrated by evaluating the directional performance of a B-Train Double.