Experimental evaluation of decentralized cooperative cruise control for heavy-duty vehicle platooning

• We propose high-level decentralized controllers for heavy-duty vehicle platooning.
• We examine the controller performance for common dynamic highway scenarios.
• Empirical results are established for the proposed controller.
• Vehicles can operate at a small inter-vehicle spacing without compromising safety.
• Unmodeled nonlinearities can cause a loss in performance in some cases.

In this paper, we consider the problem of finding decentralized controllers for heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) platooning by establishing empiric results for a qualitative verification of a control design methodology. We present a linear quadratic control framework for the design of a high-level cooperative platooning controller suitable for modern HDVs. A nonlinear low-level dynamical model is utilized, where realistic response delays in certain modes of operation are considered. The controller performance is evaluated through numerical and experimental studies. It is concluded that the proposed controller behaves well in the sense that experiments show that it allows for short time headways to achieve fuel efficiency, without compromising safety. Simulation results indicate that the model mimics real life behavior. Experiment results show that the dynamic behavior of the platooning vehicles depends strongly on the gear switching logic, which is confirmed by the simulation model. Both simulation and experiment results show that the third vehicle never displays a bigger undershoot than its preceding vehicle. The spacing errors stay bounded within 6.8 m in the simulation results and 7.2 m in the experiment results for varying transient responses. Furthermore, a minimum spacing of −0.6 m and −1.9 m during braking is observed in simulations and experiments, respectively. The results indicate that HDV platooning can be conducted at close spacings with standardized sensors and control units that are already present on commercial HDVs today.