Ride Dynamics of a Tracked Vehicle with a Finite Element Vehicle Model

Abstract

Research on tracked vehicle dynamics is by and large limited to multi-rigid body simulation. For realistic prediction of vehicle dynamics, it is better to model the vehicle as multi-flexible body. In this paper, tracked vehicle is modelled as a mass-spring system with sprung and unsprung masses of the physical tracked vehicle by Finite element method. Using the equivalent vehicle model, dynamic studies are carried out by imparting vertical displacement inputs to the road wheels. Ride characteristics of the vehicle are captured by modelling the road wheel arms as flexible elements using Finite element method. In this work, a typical tracked vehicle test terrain viz., Trapezoidal blocks terrain (APG terrain) is considered. Through the simulations, the effect of the road wheel arm flexibility is monitored. Result of the analysis of equivalent vehicle model with flexible road wheel arms, is compared with the equivalent vehicle model with rigid road wheel arms and also with the experimental results of physical tracked vehicle. Though there is no major difference in the vertical bounce response between the flexible model and the rigid model, but there is a visible difference in the roll condition. Result of the flexible vehicle model is also reasonably matches with the experimental result.

Analysis of ride comfort of a continuous tracked bogie system with variable configuration

“…For instance, Ryu et al 5 outlined the TV model considering rubber bushings around pins between track links. Jothi et al 6 proposed a TV finite element model to study the effect of roadwheel arm flexibility on the vehicle ride dynamics. Since simulation of TVs is very computationally expensive, on one hand, some authors tried to improve the kinematic modeling efficiency.…”

Real-time model for simulating a tracked vehicle on deformable soils

“…The interaction between vehicles and deformable soils is described in Bekker, 1,2 Wong, 3 Garber and Wong, 4,5 Park et al, 6 Rubinstein and Hitron 7 and Yamakawa and Watanabe; 8 the particular interaction between tracked vehicles and deformable soils is analysed in Garber and Wong, 4 where an analytical solution is given; MBS models are described in Rubinstein and Hitron, 7 Yamakawa and Watanabe, 8 Ma and Perkins, 9 Wu et al, 10 Agapov et al, 11 Jothi et al 12 and Chen et al 13 Some aspects, even in new publications, are not considered, for example, multi-pass effects. In Ma and Perkins, 9 a detailed model of the terraintrack-wheel contact is given; the track is described by finite elements.…”

“…The approach in Agapov et al 11 is not outlined for (deformable) soils. The results of an MBS model which is extended by simple finite element beam elements for the road wheels arms are presented in Jothi et al 12 The model is set up using the track model of the commercial software ADAMS/ATV, which is capable to describe the interaction between complex geometry of track elements and rigid terrain; the interaction with soft soils using Bekker's approach 1,14 is possible, but not used in Jothi et al 12 Adaptive or active suspensions of tracked vehicle are described in Chen et al 13 and Illg et al, 16 respectively. In Chen et al, 13 the commercial software RecurDyn is used (see above).…”

“…The pressure-sinkage equation of Bekker 1,14 is used for the pressure distribution, and shear stress is calculated using the approach of Janosi and Hanamoto. 14,15 Thus, the same simple approach as in Ma and Perkins 9 or Jothi et al 12 is used.…”