An important design decision for active trailer steering (ATS) systems for articulated heavy vehicles (AHVs) is the trade-off between maneuverability and lateral stability. This paper presents an automated design method for this trade-off. The proposed method has the following features: (1) a design framework for bilevel optimization of ATS systems is formulated; (2) design variables of ATS controllers and trailers are optimized simultaneously; (3) two controllers are designed for the ATS system for improving stability and enhancing maneuverability, respectively; and (4) a driver model is introduced in the virtual vehicle simulation for closed-loop testing maneuvers. The design framework allows automation of vehicle modeling, controller construction, performance evaluation, and design variable selection, and all required design processes are implemented in a single loop. The proposed method is compared to a previously published two-loop design method, showing that the new approach can effectively identify desired variables and predict performance envelopes.
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