Control Methods for Roll Instability of Articulated Steering Vehicles

Abstract

This study examines the control methods for roll instability of articulated steering vehicles (ASVs) by taking wheel loaders as the research object. An eight-degrees-of-freedom nonlinear dynamics model of ASVs was built on the basis of multibody dynamics. Three methods, namely, active braking (the front and rear axles have the same braking torque), active steering, and adjusting the swing bridge (applying a control torque between the rear body and rear axle), were adopted to analyze the effects on the roll stability of ASVs through the dynamic model. The results show that active braking is conducive to the roll stability of ASVs during turning, active steering can improve the roll stability of ASVs during turning and passing over obstacles, and adjusting the swing bridge can improve the roll stability of ASVs by changing the vehicle posture and the position of the gravity center.