Full-featured ground vehicle mobility analysis using different soil moisture sources

Abstract

We investigated the influence of using three different soil moisture sources WindSat (a satellite), land information system (LIS) (a computer model), and in situ ground sensors in a full-featured ground vehicle mobility analysis model. Soil moisture, soil type, land use, and slope were used to estimate the mobility in dry and wet scenarios for six vehicles using the NATO Reference Mobility Model (NRMM). The dry scenario showed nearly the same results for all three soil moisture sources. In the wet scenario, modelled travel times based on LIS were about 26% faster compared to those from the in situ moisture. Modelled times based on WindSat averaged 11% slower than those from the in situ moisture. For the test case we found agreement between the results of the current full-feature model against a previously-developed model using only soil moisture time series. This demonstrates that soil moisture can be important even as one terrain factor among many.