Impulse Control Technology for Improving Steering Control Systems of the Tracked Vehicles

Abstract

Ensuring the maneuverability of forest track machinery is of great interest to the forest industry in reducing the negative impact on the soil and increasing the productivity of forestry operations. This work aims to develop an improved impulse steering control technology to improve forest-tracked machinery maneuverability. The "diagonal" steering control system combined with the 5-15 Hz pressure impulse width modulation in the hydraulic steering control system was employed. Various modulator designs and steering control system parameters were selected, serving as the basis for developing an experimental prototype of the steering control system. The results of the experiment showed that the proposed technology allows creating conditions suitable for applying the impulse steering technology with minimal changes in the transmission design. The obtained results demonstrate the reliability and stability of the machine's steering system with an onboard gearbox in all parameters during shifting and turning operations. These results may be useful in designing steering control systems of tracked vehicles. The future study can focus on developing and testing the control system for a modernized skidder chassis.