Abstract
When an off-road tracked vehicle travels, shearing action and ground sinkage occur on the soil–track interface, severely affecting the tractive performance of the vehicle. Notably, ground sinkage, which is induced by the vehicle’s weight (static sinkage) and longitudinal forces in the direction of travel producing slip (slip sinkage), develops motion resistance, directly restricting the tracked vehicle’s performance. Thus, it is critical to consider both static sinkage and slip sinkage to assess the tractive performance of a tracked vehicle. In this research, model track experiments were conducted to investigate slip sinkage. The experimental results showed that the slip sinkage increased as the slip ratio increased, but the rate of increase decreased. The slip sinkage was found to increase as the density of the ground decreased and imposed vertical load increased. The experimental results were used to calculate normalized slip sinkage, and an empirical equation for slip sinkage in terms of slip ratio was developed. This equation will allow vehicle operators to predict the slip sinkage and associated motion resistance for given soil and vehicle conditions.
Highlights
A tracked vehicle uses a track system composed of track plates and grousers as its mobility system.While the track system has lower drive autonomy than the wheel system, it provides a large contact area and lowers ground contact pressure, enabling better traction [1]
Unlike road vehicles, which utilize the entire engine torque through sufficient ground strength as the driving force, the tractive performance of tracked vehicles, which drive on unpaved off-roads/terrains, is hindered by the shearing action and ground sinkage that occur on soil–track interfaces [2]
We proposed an equation for calculating the slip sinkage of off-road tracked vehicles as a function of static sinkage, slip ratio, and the horizontal distance from the leading point of the soil–track interface
Summary
A tracked vehicle uses a track system composed of track plates and grousers as its mobility system.While the track system has lower drive autonomy than the wheel system, it provides a large contact area and lowers ground contact pressure, enabling better traction [1]. The track system is generally used in heavy vehicles (e.g., excavator, crawler tractor, and armed vehicle). Unlike road vehicles, which utilize the entire engine torque through sufficient ground strength as the driving force, the tractive performance of tracked vehicles, which drive on unpaved off-roads/terrains (hereinafter “off-road tracked vehicles”), is hindered by the shearing action and ground sinkage that occur on soil–track interfaces [2]. As the ground sinkage causes motion resistance that directly interferes with driving the off-road tracked vehicle, it is important to assess and limit ground sinkage [3]. Ground sinkage is categorized into static sinkage, which is induced by the weight of a vehicle, and slip sinkage, which occurs when the track system imposes a shearing load on the ground
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