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For stability control on a vehicle-trailer combination, the coupling between vehicle and trailer as two pivoted rigid bodies has been investigated, in view of concerns that the coupling strength varies as vehicle-trailer parameters change, and thus plays an important role in the design and robustness of the stability controller. Analyses through root locus and time-domain response have been conducted and several observations have been made, which are valuable for the controller design. A preliminary stability controller with state feedback has been designed and simulated to further verify the studies above.

This paper presented an engineering review on the state of the art in the research and development of vehicle-trailer handling dynamics and stability controls. The issues and potential technical solutions were identified in various areas and the unique characteristics of vehicle-trailer as a combined system were investigated and compared to a single-unit vehicle system. Many approaches taken in modeling, analysis, simulation and testing were examined, and various control methods, actuations and control implementations were evaluated. As a result of this study, further research areas were also identified. While it is important to maintain the stability of a trailer, thus the stability of a vehicle-trailer combination, it remains one of the major challenges in designing an appropriate control law to balance effectively the requirements between stability and handling performance, which often set conflicting objectives.