A rollover safety margin-based approach for quantifying the tractor-semitrailers’ emergency lane-changing response on expressway curves

In emergency scenarios, lane changing can provide a considerable advantage over braking by aiding in the prevention of rear-end collisions. However, executing lane changes on horizontal curves might lead to rollover collisions. This study proposes a systematic methodology for quantifying the rollover safety margin during lane-changing maneuvers by encompassing the complex characteristics of vehicle-road interactions. Specifically, an enhanced six-degree-of-freedom vehicle dynamics model was developed for a tractor-semitrailer and integrates road superelevation. Using this model, the rollover safety margin reduction rate (f(S)) was calculated. The f(S) represents the ratio of the difference between the lateral load transfer ratio margins under both reference state and emergency lane change conditions to the lateral load transfer ratio margin in the reference state. The reference state corresponds to vehicles maintaining 80 km·h(-1) on a 270 m radius curve, while the emergency condition is defined as lane change durations of less than 4 seconds. The results reveal that emergency lane change maneuvers and roadway alignment significantly affect rollover safety margin. Shorter lane change duration, higher speed, and smaller radius worsen the rollover safety margin; these effects are further amplified when the lane change direction is opposite to the curve’s bending direction. When the tractor-semitrailer performs a lane change at 60 km·h(-1) within a 4-second duration on a 600 m radius curve, the f(S) exceeds 100%, indicating an imminent rollover. Consequently, this study contributes valuable evidence to the development of more reliable and secure lane-change strategies.