California Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology

This report discusses the issues investigated during the first phase of a project which focuses on the development of a simulation program which will allow the study of platoon dynamics in both nominal and emergency scenarios. Preliminary issues include collision detection between the vehicles within the platoon and determining the platoon's post-crash behavior. A two-dimensional vehicle has been developed to addresses these issues. The overall simulation program includes individual modules that supply control input force, aerodynamic drag force, and road-tire interaction forces. Simplified models of these forces have been used for the simulations. The structure of the computer simulation code allows the use of upgraded modules as more refined controllers and system models are constructed.