In late 1996, Daimler-Benz together with WABCO and Scania together with Bosch presented the first electronically controlled brake systems (EBS) in their towing vehicles. Since then roughly 2000 ACTROS per month have been produced with EBS. Other vehicle manufacturers will introduce EBS in the near future [5].
The technical advantages of EBS combined with the increased application of disc brakes, are:
improved safety through shortened stopping distance
better vehicle stability and brake comfort
optimized brake monitoring and higher profitability
However, with this first step the technical possibilities are limited to towing vehicles combined with conventionally braked trailers. The overall braking performance of the combination unit can be further improved when the trailers are equipped with an electronically controlled brake system.
Compared with conventional European brake systems, electronically controlled brake systems for trailers contain less components and are easier to install and check. However, they need a permanent power supply and the brake demand signal provided by EBS equipped tractors.
In the future there will be a mixture of electronically and conventionally braked towing and towed vehicles. For these configurations the compatibility must be guaranteed at partial braking as well as high deceleration brake applications.
This publication will deal with these issues and potential solutions.