The retarder is widely used to ensure braking safety in heavy vehicles due to its noncontact braking characteristics. Currently, retarders are generally mounted on tractors, but semi-trailers have greater inertia and are prone to accidents. Therefore, the semi-trailer's brakes have to work frequently to maintain stability during downhill braking, which causes the brakes to generate high temperatures or even failure. Based on the above problems, a novel internal pump-hydraulic retarder axle (IP-HRA) is proposed, which integrates the pump and hydraulic retarder (HR) into the support axle. The prototype of the IP-HRA was made and a bench test was conducted. In the experiment, the single-side braking power of the IP-HRA reaches 300 kW and its torque can be controlled by adjusting the outlet pressure. A co-simulation model of articulated vehicles is established to predict the braking state by computer solutions. Based on the experimental data, the methods of IP-HRA braking semi-trailer and traditional HR braking tractor are compared. The results of co-simulation show that the IP-HRA is more conducive to the braking stability of the articulated vehicle than the traditional HR when only retarder is used. Finally, the braking time and braking deceleration of IP-HRA are verified by road experiments.
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