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This paper discusses the improvement of a heavy truck anti-lock brake system (ABS) model currently used by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in conjunction with multibody vehicle dynamics software. Accurate modeling of this complex system is paramount in predicting real-world dynamics, and significant improvements in model accuracy are now possible due to recent access to ABS system data during on-track experimental testing. This paper focuses on improving an existing ABS model to accurately simulate braking under limit braking maneuvers on high and low-coefficient surfaces. To accomplish this, an ABS controller model with slip ratio and wheel acceleration thresholds was developed to handle these scenarios. The model was verified through testing of a Class VIII 6×4 straight truck. The Simulink brake system and ABS model both run simultaneously with TruckSim, with the initialization and results being acquired through Matlab.

This paper discusses wet stopping performance and stability comparisons of various foundation brake systems on Class-8 truck tractors (having a GVWR greater than 33,000 lbs.). For these studies, four configurations of foundation brakes were fitted to two modern 6×4 conventional truck tractors without modification to the control, application, or ABS systems. The foundation brakes compared include standard S-cam drum brakes on all six positions, two hybrid configurations (high-output S-cam drum and then air disc brakes on the steer axles), and air disc brakes on all six brake positions. The truck tractors were tested in two weight configurations, LLVW and GVWR using an unbraked control semitrailer. Analytical analyses of wet brake-in-curve testing indicate that the hybrid brake systems (employing higher-torque brakes on the steer axle only) might degrade brake-incurve performance. This disadvantage appeared to exist for both load conditions.