About the Steering Kinematics of the Road Trains

Abstract

These paper studies the road trains turning process in the hypothesis of Ackerman steering. Both tractor semitrailer and tractor full-trailer combinations are analyzed. Using planar models and geometric relations, the temporal differential equations of the combination are derived considering that the speed and pivoting angle of the steerable wheels are known as time functions. If the tractor-semitrailer and tractor-dolly-trailer are easier to model, the case of the combination of a tractor with a trailer having steering mechanism is more complicated. The kinematic model can be useful in many driving situations as parking manoeuvers, passing through round-about or following a certain path. From the mathematic model, the road train off-tracking can be also obtained.