Lateral stabilization of vehicle-trailer combinations against crosswind disturbances by means of sliding control

This paper reports the basic properties and robust control of a vehicle-trailer combination crosswind disturbance conditions. In practice it is known that unstable roll movements may occur, especially with unfavorable combinations of vehicle and trailer conditions, operating slightly above the permissible maximum speed. This may lead to accidents mostly due to improper driver behavior. First we present two dynamic model vehicle-trailer combinations (single- and double track), using a wind model based on the Dryden spectrum. After analysis of these the single-track model is used for designing a sliding mode controller. The controller's parameters are found through linear optimization, minimizing steering activity and lateral deviation. Finally the controller is validated using the double-track model of the system. Simulations show that the controlled system is able to follow a predefined trajectory, which is generated using an inverted single-track model of the system. The system could also reliably stabilize roll movements induced by crosswinds. The controller proved to be very robust towards parameter variations (e.g. loading conditions or vehicle velocity) as well as towards the influence of crosswind with wind speeds up to 50 m/s.