A steering model for articulated tracked vehicle considering soil deformation on track–soil interaction

Abstract

With the advantage of steering performance, articulated tracked vehicles have excellent mobility in off-road application. However, in current models for steering performance, soil deformation on the interaction between track and soil cannot always be taken into account. Therefore, steering performance cannot always be calculated accurately. In order to solve the problem, it is essential to propose a steering model which can take the effect of soil deformation on track–soil interaction into consideration. In this article, a steering model of articulated tracked vehicle is proposed on track–soil interaction. Moreover, in order to improve steering performance, a track–soil sub-model is developed that can consider soil deformation on track–soil interaction. Using this steering model based on track–soil sub-model, steering performance can be calculated more accurately. Simulation studies and experimental results are in strong agreement with the theoretical results in this article. The results show that equipped with the track–soil sub-model, the proposed steering model can be used to accurately predict steering performance. The steering model of articulated tracked vehicle proposed in this article can provide a basis for other similar vehicles.