An overview of control schemes for improving the lateral stability of car-trailer combinations

This paper reviews the state-of-the-art control schemes for enhancing the lateral stability of car-trailer (CT) combinations. Various studies have been conducted on lateral stability control of single-unit vehicles, e.g., cars. However, much less attention has been paid to lateral stability control of multi-unit vehicles, e.g., CT, which usually exhibit poor manoeuvrability in curved-path negotiations and low lateral stability under high-speed evasive manoeuvres. The low lateral stability may lead to unstable motion modes, e.g., trailer-sway and jackknifing, causing severe accidents. To improve the lateral stability, various control schemes were designed considering relevant performance measures and evaluated using either numerical simulations or testing methods. Thus, the topics surveyed in this paper include: directional performance measures, evaluation methods, important parameters affecting the directional performance, and active control approaches for CT combinations. Important control schemes are emphasised and their features discussed and analysed. As a result of the overview, future research efforts are identified.