Abstract
The effects of operating off-highway on path-following performance of an actively-steered semitrailer are investigated. The steering controller is intended to make a ‘follow-point’ on the rear of the trailer follow the path of a ‘lead point’ on the tractor unit. Significant wheel slip caused by insufficient tyre-road adhesion causes the control system to lose track of the vehicle’s position, which in-turn causes incorrect steering control inputs. The effect of road camber, road grade and tyre-road adhesion, on theoretical tracking performance of a nonlinear vehicle model for a 450° roundabout are investigated. Tracking errors up to 0.6m are observed for cambered roads with poor adhesion.
KEYWORDS – active steering, path following, articulated vehicles, off-highway