Methodology for analysis of heavy vehicle trafficability in deformable soils

Abstract

Heavy vehicles have a wide range of applicability in our daily lives: buses, commercial trucks, and even defense vehicles are important to transport people and goods and provide protection. However, this field is not widely covered by the scientific literature in many aspects regarding their dynamic behavior, as most works tend to focus on personal vehicles (cars). This article elaborates on heavy vehicle trafficability on many different terrains or their capacity to operate in those soils, using an analysis based on the Wong–Reece method with deformable soil–rigid tire approximation. It also develops a dynamic model, using MATLAB SimulinkTM software, to show how heavy vehicle performance both kinematically and dynamically is influenced by the soil. To test both models, a numerical case study was conducted, using common parameters for wheeled heavy vehicles as inputs for the dynamic. Results indicate that heavy vehicles are often incapable of operating in highly deformable soils, sinking deeply into the ground; the soil also affects heavily the vehicle maximum velocity and gear from almost [Formula: see text] km/h in Greenville Loam soil to less than [Formula: see text] km/h in Upland Sandy Loam soil.