Abstract
In this paper, mathematical model was developed for predicting the tractive performance of off-road wheeled vehicles operated on soft terrains. Based on the mathematical model, a computer simulation program(TPPMWV) was developed. The model takes into account main design parameters of wheeled vehicle, including radius and width of front and rear tire, weight of vehicle, wheelbase and driving type(4WD, 2WD). Soil characteristics, such as the peressure-sinkage and shearing characteristics and the response to repetitive loading and slip-sinkage effect, are also taken into consideration. The effectiveness of the developed model was verified by comparing the predicted drawbar pulls using TPPMWV with measured ones obtained by field tests for two different driving types of wheeled vehicle. As a results, the drawbar pulls predicted by the TPPMWV were well matched to the measured ones within the absolute errors of 3.916%(4WD) and 13.31%(2WD) for two different driving types, respectively.
