Investigation of lane-change dynamic responses of tractor–semitrailer vehicles using a multibody dynamic model

Abstract

This study investigates the lane-change response of a tractor–semitrailer vehicle and determines the corresponding geometric operating boundaries in terms of steering and velocity parameters. The main contributions are the development of a 28-degree-of-freedom multi-body dynamic model of a four-axle articulated vehicle using the Newton–Euler formulation, its low-frequency experimental assessment under representative low-to-moderate lateral-excitation conditions, its subsequent application in numerical parametric simulations to identify geometric lane-change operating boundaries in the velocity–steering parameter space. These boundaries are derived by post-processing the complete simulated swept envelope and are interpreted as condition-specific numerical predictions rather than experimentally validated thresholds of dynamic instability. The model incorporates tire nonlinear characteristics, suspension dynamics, and articulated coupling effects. A sinusoidal steering input is employed to simulate lane-change maneuvers under low-adhesion road conditions. The influences of steering amplitude, steering frequency, and vehicle speed on trajectory deviation and lane-change dynamic response are systematically analyzed. The results provide condition-specific numerical references for evaluating the swept-envelope response of articulated vehicles under prescribed steering inputs and offer a basis for future studies involving warning, monitoring, and control-oriented applications.