Handling Evaluation of Tractor-semitrailer with Split Fifth Wheel Coupling Undergoing an ISO Double Lane Change Manoeuvre

Abstract

Tractor-semitrailers face the issue of off-tracking which restricts their movement through congested areas. One of the innovative and passive methods to reduce offtracking in tractor-semitrailers is to implement a Split fifth wheel coupling (SFWC). Studies show that off-tracking is reduced by up to 21% for a circular turning manoeuvre. The handling performance of the tractor-semitrailer with SFWC is not evaluated yet and hence needs to be ad-dressed. In the present work, in order to assess the handling performance of the vehicle with SFWC, simulations are carried out for ISO double lane change manoeuvre at various speeds. The results are compared with those of the Conventional fifth wheel coupling (CFWC) model to understand the relative performance of the tractor-semitrailer with SFWC. The results show that the performance of tractor-semitrailers with SFWC is on par with that of vehicles with CFWC at lower speeds; in fact, for speeds below 40 kmph, the lateral acceleration experienced by the semitrailer of SFWC vehicle is less compared to that of CFWC vehicle. However, it becomes a little unstable at higher speeds. With the development of stability control systems like Electronic stability control (ESC), optimized for tractor-semitrailers with SFWC, their performance would improve.