Analytical study on the use of additional electric motors for semi trailer stability control

Toyota Engineering, 2020–21

Liaison(s): Daniel Folick, Justin Ward, Takehito Yokoo
Advisor(s): Okitsugu Furuya
Students(s): Crystal Yang (TL-F), Joseph Anderson (TL-S), Chris Paniagua, Louise Smith, Keyvon Adelzadeh (F), Ilona Kariko (S)

The Toyota Clinic team has been tasked with examining the stability of Toyota’s Project Portal hydrogen fuel-cell semi truck and investigating how adding motors to the rear axle of the trailer can reduce trailer instability. This includes creating a stability model of the truck and trailer system as well as developing and validating a control algorithm to correct potential trailer instabilities.