Dynamic modelling and experimental validation of a skid-steered vehicle in the pivotal steering condition

Abstract

The pivotal steering ability of a skid-steered vehicle is an important advantage compared with the steering ability of an Ackermann steered vehicle. In the pivotal steering condition, the strong non-linearity of the properties of the tyres makes prediction of the dynamic modelling and the performance difficult. For this purpose, this paper proposes an experimentally validated dynamic model to describe the motion of a skid-steered vehicle in the pivotal steering condition. The mechanical analytical model of the tyres was constructed on the assumption of an 'elliptical parabolic' contact pressure distribution. The dynamic model has nine degrees of freedom, including the longitudinal motion, the lateral motion and the yaw motion of the body and also the rotation of the wheels; the motor saturation is also considered. The analysis and experiments were based on a specific 6 3 6 unmanned skid-steered vehicle which is driven by six independent in-wheel motors, and the driving control algorithm of the vehicle was also described. By comparing the results of experiments and simulations, it was shown that the dynamic model provided an accurate prediction of the performance.

Handling performance control for hybrid 8-wheel-drive vehicle and simulation verification

“…On behalf of the space, the detail of the analytical tyre model will not be shown, it can be found in [20]. Furthermore, the parameters used for tyre modelling such as tyre longitudinal and lateral stiffness is obtained by tyre tests, which can be found in our previous work.…”

“…Furthermore, the tyre mechanical properties are defined by the analytical tyre model proposed by the authors based on 'Elliptical Parabolic' contact pressure distribution assumption ( Figure 4). [20] During the modelling process of vehicle body, it is assumed that the vehicle is placed on a plane surface with a local coordinate frame denoted by (X, Y, Z) assigned at its C.G., following assumptions were made:…”

A review for design and dynamics control of unmanned ground vehicle

“…In recent years, with the rapid development of the artificial intelligence technique, sensor technique, computing technique, and vehicle control technique, the unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is becoming widely focused on and applied in both civilian and military applications. 1–5 Generally, the main features of the UGV are as follows: (1) The UGV is completely autonomous driving with a particular functional equipment, which is able to conduct the missions autonomously with no human onboard. (2) The purpose of the application of the UGV is to completely replace humans for various civilian and military applications.…”

Speed-adaptive motion control algorithm for differential steering vehicle

“…This steering mechanism also requires the wheels to skid laterally against the ground in order to turn, therefore it is also known as skid-steering , which has been widely adopted for tracked vehicles, loaders, and farm machineries. 2–5 In addition, the DSV is equipped with in-wheel motors, thus the torque and speed of each wheel can be controlled independently and individually, 6 leading to higher achievable vehicle speeds up to 80 km/h and improved energy consumption over tracked vehicles. 7,8…”