Method for drive stability enhancement of multi-unit vehicles

Abstract

A method for drive stability enhancement of multi-unit vehicle combinations which is based on an autonomous unilateral operation and pressure coordination (during braking) of the towing vehicle unit's brake system, producing a stabilizing yaw torque on the towing vehicle unit, whose calculation is based on an adaptive reference model of the vehicle combination, running in real-time on the vehicle's onboard computer and gathering information only from the towing vehicle unit, such as pneumatic pressures at the brake cylinders, pressure differences in the rear axle air bags, steering angle, yaw rate and lateral acceleration and the wheel speeds on the towing vehicle. Based on this information and the adaptive model, the hitch ange and its derivative is estimated. The unilateral barking of the rear axle of the towing vehicle generates stabilizing effect not only on the towing vehicle, but also on the towed vehicle, by influencing the motion of the hitch jackknifing, lateral swingout of the trailer or spinning out of the combination and the towed vehicle's roll-over. The system also operates when the driver applies brakes, namely, releases the brake pressure on one side, when full brake pressure is applied, and applies more brake force on the appropriate side when partial braking is conducted. The procedure can also bring the front wheels close to locking when a dangerous situation is detected from the vehicle model, such as jackknifing.

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