No abstract

<p class="p1">Off-road vehicles achieve their mobility with the help of a track system. A track has large number of rigid bodies with pin joints leading to computational complexity in modelling the dynamic behaviour of the system. In this paper, a new idea is proposed, where the tracks are replaced by a set of imaginary wheels connected to the road wheels using mechanical links. A non-linear wheel terrain interaction model considering longitudinal slip is used to find out the normal and tangential contact forces. A linear trailing arm suspension, where a road arm connecting the road wheel and chassis with a rotational spring and damper system is considered. The differential algebraic equations (DAEs) from the multi-body model are derived in Cartesian coordinates and formulated using augmented formulation. The augmented equations are solved numerically using appropriate stabilisation techniques. The novel proposition is validated using experimental measurements done on a tracked vehicle.</p>

A tracked vehicle employs a special transmission to generate a speed difference between the inner and outer tracks for steering. In this paper, the dynamic model of one of the most widely used steering transmissions called double differential steering has been derived and integrated with a multi-body tracked vehicle model. A simplified multi-body model for tracks has been proposed to reduce the computational and numerical difficulties arising from a detailed three-dimensional multi-body model. The accuracy of the proposed model is demonstrated by extensive comparison with a detailed multi-body model developed using the Tracked Vehicle module of the commercial software ADAMS. Simulations are carried out using the integrated tracked vehicle model to demonstrate the effects of changes in three-dimensional vehicle dynamic performance with design changes in powertrain systems.