Braking Force Distribution Strategy for Comfort of Tractor and Semi-Trailer Combination

摘要

For the purpose of comfort enhancement during the braking process of tractor/semi-trailer combination vehicles, and in order to achieve a smooth braking deceleration establishment in which the braking force of a vehicle only relates to the braking signal it receives and yet is not affected by the gross mass of a semi-trailer, a braking force distribution algorithm is proposed. The algorithm, based on Electronically controlled Braking System, determines the semi-trailer's mass and vertical load of each axle, distributing the braking force of each axle according to its own vertical load. By using the TruckSim and MATLAB/Simulink, the simulation results show that, with such algorithm, braking deceleration of tractor/semi-trailer combination is only depend on the braking signal it receives, standing free from the impact of semi-trailer mass. Moreover, braking deceleration achieves a smooth establishment, which promotes its comfort. In addition, each axle gets a harmonious braking force distribution, thus achieving an ideal coupling force between tractor and semi-trailer.