A simulation-based comparative study on lateral characteristics of trucks with double and triple trailers

Abstract

This paper investigates the lateral stability and maneuverability in long combination vehicles (LCVs), namely semi-trucks with 28-ft doubles, 28-ft triples, and 33ft doubles, using TruckSim. In recent years, due to the rapid increase of E-commerce cargo transport demands, trucks with multiple trailers have been used with increasing frequency on U.S. highways. The most common configuration is 28-ft doubles, although in some states, 28-ft triples and longer doubles, such as 33-ft trailers, are also allowed. LCVs provide operational advantages in terms of loading and unloading, ease of distribution, and other key logistics that are superior to the conventional 53-ft trailers that are commonly used for bulk cargo over long hauls. The vast proliferation of LCVs on U.S. highways heightens awareness of their dynamics, including lateral stability and maneuverability which are strongly tied to highway safety. This study provides a comparative evaluation of the lateral characteristics for tractors with 28-ft double, 28-ft triple, and 33-ft double trailers. In particular, the likelihood of rollovers, rearward amplification, and off-tracking are analyzed among those LCVs using the multi-domain dynamic models developed in