Robust Static Output Feedback with Dynamic Disturbance Feed-forward for Lateral Control of Long-combination Vehicles At High Speeds


 A control strategy is proposed to improve the high-speed lateral performance of an A-double (tractor-semitrailer-dolly-semitrailer) combination vehicle using active steering of the front axle of the dolly. The strategy is realized as a H∞-type static output feedback combined with dynamic feed-forward. The static output feedback synthesis is based on a previous work from the literature, while novel linear matrix inequality (LMI) conditions have been derived for dynamic feed-forward synthesis that can also be used for uncertain systems. The proposed controller has a simple structure and is easy to implement from a practical point of view since it requires only the driver steering angle (for feed-forward) and just one articulation angle measurement (for feedback). Obtained using a high-fidelity vehicle model, the synthesis results confirm a significant reduction in the rearward amplifications of the yaw rate and the lateral acceleration as well as the high-speed transient off-tracking during sudden lane change maneuvers.