Controller Design for Optimizing Fuel Consumption of Truck Platoon on Hilly Roads

Platoons consisting of automated and connected vehicles show great potential in reducing fuel or energy consumption. However, the fuel consumption optimization problem for truck platoons traveling on hilly roads has not been investigated thoroughly. To address that problem, a hierarchical control framework is proposed in this paper as follows: (1) The supervising layer is responsible for generating the fuel-oriented optimal speed profile based on the terrain information; (2) The distributed layer consists of an LQR feedback controller, a DMPC feedforward controller and a tube integration method to integrate the two controllers; it receives the optimal speed profile from the supervising layer and yields the control input to the individual vehicle. In this paper, a novel optimal speed profile generation method is proposed, a novel integration of tube method is applied, and the stability performance is analyzed rigorously. Simulations based on a real hilly road are conducted, and the performance of the proposed controller is evaluated regarding the platoon stability, fuel consumption and computation efficiency. The results of the simulation show that the controller is capable of maintaining the string stability of the truck platoon and reducing fuel consumed on hilly roads while improving computation efficiency.