The effect of path curvature on the stability of reversing truck–semitrailer in the presence of feedback delay

Stability analysis of the low-speed reverse motion along clothoid curve is presented for the truck–semitrailer combination. The single-track kinematic model supplemented with the steering system and the lower-level controller is applied. A higher-level controller is designed to stabilise the reverse motion of the vehicle. Linear state feedback with time delay is used with feedforward term to force the vehicle to the desired path. The linear stability analysis is done by semi-discretization and D-subdivision methods to determine the optimal control gain setup. The effects of path curvature and time delay on the stability are investigated and verified via numerical simulations. Results are validated via experiments using a small-scale test rig. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.