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Lateral dynamics of single unit skid-steered tracked vehicle

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Abstract

In the design and development of high-speed tracked vehicles, it is necessary to have an understanding of the interrelationship between the terrain factors and the vehicle characteristics during steering. The handling behavior of skid-steered tracked vehicles is more complex than that of wheeled vehicles because of non-linear characteristics arising from the sliding interface between the track and the ground. In the present work, a five degree-of-freedom (DOF) steering model of a tracked vehicle is developed, and the handling behavior during non-stationary motion is studied when operating at high and low speeds. It is demonstrated that the inclusion of roll and pitch DOF changes the steering response when compared to the response from three DOF models proposed earlier by several researchers. This is due to the strong coupling between the pitch and yaw motions. The effect of the initial forward velocities on the trajectory of the vehicle during non-stationary motion is also studied. It is observed from the results that the stability is influenced by the type of steering input, steering ratio and vehicle forward speed.

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Abbreviations

X, Y, Z :

global coordinates

x,y,z :

body fixed axes with origin at the C.G.

α x :

longitudinal component of acceleration at the C.G.

α :

lateral component of acceleration at the C.G.

β :

side slip angle

θ :

yaw angle

δ :

roll angle

ϕ :

pitch angle

φ :

directional angle of the course of the C.G.

µ x :

longitudinal coefficient of friction

µ y :

lateral coefficient of friction

ψ ij :

direction of slipping of the track shoe under the (i, j)-road wheel

B :

tread of the vehicle

C.G. :

center of gravity

E 1 , E 2 :

coefficients in the pull-slip equation

H :

height of the center of gravity

I x :

moment of inertia of the vehicle about the x axis

I y :

moment of inertia of the vehicle about the y axis

I z :

moment of inertia of the vehicle about the z axis

L :

length of the track on the ground

P ij :

load under the (i, j)-road wheel during maneuver

Q xij :

longitudinal component of the frictional force of the track under (i,j)-road wheel

Q yij :

lateral component of the frictional force of the track under the (i, j)-road wheel

S j :

slip ratio of the track

V :

vehicle speed at the C.G.

V t1 :

inner track velocity

V t2 :

outer track velocity

X t :

displacement of the C.G. of the vehicle in the xdirection

Y t :

displacement of the C.G. of the vehicle in the ydirection

f :

coefficient of rolling resistance

g :

acceleration due to gravity

i :

subscript i th road wheel

j :

subscript j = 1 for inner track, j = 2 for outer track

k :

anisotropic coefficient of friction

m :

mass of the vehicle

n :

number of road wheels on one side

t :

time

\(\dot x\) :

vehicle speed in the longitudinal direction

\(\dot y\) :

vehicle speed in the lateral direction

θ f :

angle of approach of the track

θ r :

angle of departure of the track

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600036, India

    B. Janarthanan, C. Padmanabhan & C. Sujatha

Authors
  1. B. Janarthanan
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  2. C. Padmanabhan
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  3. C. Sujatha
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. Sujatha.

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Janarthanan, B., Padmanabhan, C. & Sujatha, C. Lateral dynamics of single unit skid-steered tracked vehicle. Int.J Automot. Technol. 12, 865–875 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-011-0099-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-011-0099-4

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