Effect of trailer suspension damping tuning on rearward amplification of car-trailer combinations

In car-trailer combinations (CTCs), the dynamic analysis can be more complicated than non-articulated vehicles due to the special structure of CTC. In this study, a 5 degree-of-freedom (DOF) CTC model including damping tuning of trailer shock absorbers is established. Applying Matlab/Simulink simulation, influence of trailer shock absorbers damping coefficient on CTC dynamic stability is studied. The results show that smaller trailer shock absorbers damping coefficient makes Rearward Amplification smaller, which implies increased safety. As for Rearward Phase Lag, a larger trailer shock absorbers damping coefficient makes trailer responds more quickly to towing car inputs.