A 9-DOF Tractor-Semitrailer Dynamic Handling Model for Advanced Chassis Control Studies

Summary This paper describes a flexible and modular 9-degrees-of-freedom nonlinear dynamic handling model for a tractor-semitrailer combination vehicle. The equations of motion are derived from the fundamental equations of dynamics in Euler's formulation, with the use of general computer-algebra software. The primary aim of the model is simulation of handling scenarios with active yaw control, using unilateral braking. However, it may also prove useful in other areas of tractor-semitrailer handling analysis or hardware-in-the-loop simulations. The model is formulated as a state-space model that may be implemented in standard simulation environments. A Simulink implementation is presented, and simulation results are compared with experiments to validate the model.