Proposals for the formulation of law of control for articulated truck activated trailer hydrostatic transmission

The article is devoted to the development of scientifically based methods of creation of systems of automated adaptive control (SAAC) by “intelligent” transmissions multidrive-wheeled vehicles, such as articulated trucks with activated trailing links. The purpose of the studies is to formulate laws of control, the use of which in such SAAC should provide automatic selection in a variety of driving conditions of energy-efficient mode of power distribution between drive wheels. One of the most important issues in this case is to determine the parameters with necessary information content, which control of changes’ nature in the process of vehicle motion will allow SAAC to form control signals, ensuring keeping of the energy-optimal mode of motion in changing conditions. Obviously, these parameters should be the only ones that can be controlled during motion of articulated truck in real operation conditions by currently known and reliable methods. The article contains the results of this research obtained on the basis of the mathematical modeling of steady linear motion of articulated truck with activated trailing link, which wheels’ drive is provided by adjustable hydrostatic transmission in conditions of non-deformable bearing surface. The analysis was performed in the range of change gear ratios of trailer wheel drive when the transmission does not have interaxle power circulation. On the basis of studies the authors revealed the parameters that meet the above mentioned requirements, and also present the proposals for the formulation of control law for hydrostatic transmission of articulated truck activated trailer unit, which usage in the developed SAAC will improve energy efficiency of articulated trucks.