STEERABILITY ANALYSIS OF MULTIAXLE WHEELED VEHICLES. REPORT 1. DEVELOPMENT OF A SOIL-WHEEL INTERACTION MODEL

This report describes the development of a mathematical model for calculating the motion resistance, sinkage, drawbar pull, torque, and side force for a flexible wheel traversing a yielding (or deformable) surface. To facilitate computations, the deformed boundary of the wheel is assumed to be an arc of a larger circular wheel. The entire soil-wheel interaction process is treated as two springs in series, one describing the flexibility of the tire and one describing the elastic-plastic deformation of the soil. Mathematical expressions are derived for the two spring constants in terms of the load deflection characteristics of the tire, the undeflected configuration of the wheel, and the mechanical properties of the soil (both shearing response and compressibility characteristics). The system of equations describing the performance of the wheel is solved numerically via a computer program called TIRE. An extensive series of parametric calculations is conducted with TIRE to demonstrate the application of the methodology and to study the performance of flexible wheels on different types of soil under various kinematic conditions. A partial validation of the proposed interaction model is established by comparing the results of laboratory tests for clay, sand, and mixed soils with corresponding model predictions.

• Corporate Authors:

  U.S. Army Waterways Experiment Station

  Geotechnical Laboratory, 3909 Halls Ferry Road
  Vicksburg, MS  United States  39180-6199
• Authors:
  • Baladi, G Y
  • Rohani, B
  • Barnes, D E
• Publication Date: 1984-1

Media Info

• Pagination: 137 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Clay; Computer programs; Deflection; Drawbar pull; Elastic deformation; Force; Loads; Mathematical models; Motion; Resistance (Mechanics); Sand; Steering; Tires; Torque
• Uncontrolled Terms: Models; Sinkage
• Old TRIS Terms: Load deflection; Motion resistance; Side force; Soil-wheel interaction
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Vehicles and Equipment; I61: Equipment and Maintenance Methods;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00393674
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: WES/TR/GL-84-1
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 30 1985 12:00AM