Generation mechanism and control of high‐frequency vibration for tracked vehicles

Abstract A crawler system provides much larger ground contact, leading to excellent terrain adaptability. Due to its structural characteristics, high‐frequency vibration proportional to the vehicle speed is generated during the driving process. This is a result of the polygon and rolling effects between the track and the wheels. A field test of a tracked vehicle is performed to monitor movement signals of the chassis and a rocker arm. Their corresponding power spectral density distributions confirm the correctness of the frequency‐calculation equation. Then, a novel elastic track tensioning device with a damper is designed as a cushion between the idler and the chassis. Depending on its geometry, the equivalent damping coefficient for a dynamic model is evaluated. Subsequently, the damping is altered in response to different operating conditions by a hybrid damping fuzzy semiactive control system. The controller accounts for both chassis and track vibration. Based on the transfer matrix method for multibody systems, a dynamical model of the track system is developed. Control performances are evaluated using two numerical simulations of obstacle crossing and off‐road driving operations. Results indicate that the proposed semiactive tensioner is substantially better than the conventional one. This paper provides a novel feasible scheme for vibration reduction of tracked vehicles.