Computation of Permissible Perturbations in Dynamic Parameters of an Articulated Vehicle to Maintain Stability

The aim of this research is to compute the allowable ranges of the uncertain parameters, affecting the torques and forces working on the tires of an articulated vehicle, to maintain stabilty. A seven-degree-of-freedom model of the vehicle is adopted, while it moves on a straight track. A nominal output feedback controller is designed for the model of the vehicle with nominal parameters, in order to attain acceptable performance in the presence of external disturbances.
Due the multi-linear structure of the characteristic equation of the linearized model of the vehicle, the polynomial method is used to compute the stability margins for the uncertain parameters. The computed margins are verified by plotting the root-locus of the closed-loop poles of the system when the parameters are perturbed inside the computed margins. Also, a more realistic model of an articulated vehicle is built in the environment of ADAMS software to verify the computed stability margins. It is observed that the computed bounds of parameter perturbations are relatively exact and the perturbations out of the computed ranges result in instability.