Similarities Between Wheels and Tracks: A “Tire Model” for Tracked Vehicles

As an important component of land transportation systems, tracked vehicles (TRVs) and wheeled vehicles (WVs) have developed independently in parallel, particularly in the modeling of vehicle-ground interactions. However, their differences are not as significant as they appear. This paper introduces a simplified terramechanics-based track-ground interaction model for the motion control of TRVs on firm ground. The simplified interaction model addresses the problem that the terramechanics-based models are too complex to be applied to optimization-based real-time control algorithms. Interestingly, the proposed track-ground interaction model closely resembles to the tire model used for WVs. Through comparison, we present the unified mechanisms underlying vehicle-ground interactions. In our approach, TRVs can be treated as a special type of skid-steer WV, which benefits the theories and methods of wheel vehicles to be deployed in the TRV domain. Finally, we verify the proposed interaction model with extensive dynamic data from a real dual motor-driven TRV to demonstrate its effectiveness.