A practical quantification of longitudinal slippage of robot platform wheels traversing on solid balls based uneven terrain

Abstract

This research is spearhead for longitudinal slippage of robot platform wheels traversing on solid balls based uneven terrain. For this purpose, effects of solid ball diameter (0.0127–0.0508 m) accompanying with tire inflation pressure (20.68–55.16 kPa) and platform forward speed (0.17–0.50 m/s) on the slippage were practically quantified. Robotic experiments were executed in controlled test bed prepared by solid ceramic balls. Tentative data collected from the experiments indicate that the wheels experienced low (<30%), moderate (30–60%) and high slippage (>60%) under effects of independent variables. Results demonstrated that the increasing effect of the dominant variable of solid ball diameter on the slippage was 3.6 and 2.6 times greater than that of platform forward speed and tire inflation pressure, respectively. Meanwhile, the increasing linear effect of tire inflation pressure on the slippage was prevailed (1.4 times) than the decreasing linear effect of platform forward speed. Hence, to minimize the slippage as well as power loss of the platform traversing on each solid ball diameter, adjustment of tire inflation pressure should be enumerated as first priority. Overall, analytical results obtained in this research lead to open a new prospection for comprehending the slippage trends of off-road wheeled robots traversing on an uneven terrain composed of solid balls. Practicability of this type of the robots is remark in various industrial robotic operations, especially for process towers and reactors of oil, gas, petrochemical, and chemical industries. Hence, quantitative and qualitative information of this research are a rich source for relevant industrial investigators and experts who involved in this realm.