Development of a Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation of a Tractor-Trailer Combination Vehicle with B-Double Trailers

The advancement of computer systems and simulation modeling tools have enabled control systems designers to reduce the development time and bring active safety system products to market faster. Modern tractor-trailers are becoming increasingly equipped with such active safety systems. More often than not, these tractor-trailers are designed to pull either a single trailer or multiple trailers in operation. One of such multiple trailer combinations are the B-Doubles combination, in which the fifth wheel coupling is located at the rear of the lead, trailer, which is mounted on the rear section located immediately above the lead trailer axles. Although this combination is less susceptible to lateral instability compared with an A-Train combination, it can still have exposure to roll instability. Hence, the application of a trailer roll stability system on the combination vehicle may prove beneficial to the roll stability. This paper will explore the development of the Hardware-in-the-loop simulation setup for a B-doubles trailer combination and discuss some initial results from the simulations that were performed as proof of concept verification.