Off-Road Soft Soil Tire Model Development, Validation, and Interface to Commercial Multibody Dynamics Software

Principal Investigators

• Corina Sandu, Virginia Tech
• Saied Taheri, Virginia Tech

Students

• Scott Naranjo, M.S. 2013, Virginia Tech
• Eduardo Pinto, M.S. 2012, Virginia Tech
• Emilio Jimenez, Ph.D. 2014, Virginia Tech
• Shahyar Taheri, Ph.D. 2015, Virginia Tech
• Rui He, Ph.D. 2015, Virginia Tech

Government

• Paramsothy Jayakumar, David Gorsich, U.S. Army GVSC

Industry

• Brant Ross, MotionPort
• Daniel Christ, Michelin Americas Research Company
• Dave Hubbel, Archie Andonian, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company

Project duration was 2011-2015.

Accurate and efficient tire models for soft soil operations are needed for army mobility simulations. The forces and moments that occur at tire-terrain interface are critical in the performance of a vehicle. The development of tire models for vehicles that operate in off-road conditions have been much less explored than those for on-road applications. A direct application of an on-road tire model to simulate tires on soft soil is not possible, due to the fact that the negotiation on deformable terrain raises issues for which on-road tire models do not account. The final deliverable of this project was an accurate and efficient off-road tire model for soft soil that interfaces with commercial multibody dynamics software. The model predicts drawbar pull on soft soil, longitudinal and lateral forces, accounting for combined slip in the contact patch, sinkage, and bulldozing effect. Additionally, the model also works for rough rigid terrain.

Publications:

• Sandu, C., Taheri, Sh., Taheri, S., and Gorsich, D., “Hybrid Soft Soil Tire Model (HSSTM). Part I: Tire material and structure modeling”, Journal of Terramechanics, v86, pp1-13, 2019. doi:10.1016/j.jterra.2019.08.002
• Sandu, C., Taheri, Sh., Taheri, S., and Gorsich, D., “Hybrid Soft Soil Tire Model (HSSTM). Part II: Tire-terrain interaction”, Journal of Terramechanics, v86, pp15-29, 2019. doi:10.1016/j.jterra.2019.08.004
• Taheri, Sh., Sandu, C., Taheri, S., Els, S., Jimenez, E., “Hybrid Soft Soil Tire Model (HSSTM) Part III: Model parameterization and validation”, Journal of Terramechanics, v88, pp1-15, 2020. doi:10.1016/j.jterra.2019.11.002
• Book chapter: Sandu, C., “Chapter 2. Severe Environmental Conditions and Situations. 2.1. Experimental and Modeling Terramechanics Studies”, in Advanced Autonomous Vehicle Design for Severe Environments, IOS Press BV, NATO ASI, Editors Vantsevitch, V.V. and Blundell, M.V., 2015. ISBN print 978-1-61499-575-3 / ISBN online 978-1-61499-576-0
• Taheri, Sh., Wei, T., “A new semi-empirical method for estimating tire combined slip forces and moments during handling maneuvers”, SAE International Journal of Passenger Car - Mechanical Systems, 15JPCM-0075, 2015. doi:10.4271/2015-01-9112
• Taheri, Sh., Sandu, C., Taheri, S., Pinto, E., Gorsich, D., “A Technical Survey on Terramechanics Models for Tire-Terrain Interaction Used in Modeling and Simulation of Wheeled Vehicles”, Journal of Terramechanics, Vol. 57, pp. 1-22, Feb. 2015. doi:10.1016/j.jterra.2014.08.003
• Naranjo, S., Sandu, C., Taheri, S., Taheri, Sh., “Experimental testing of an off-road instrumented tire on soft soil”, Journal of Terramechanics, Vol. 56, pp. 119-137, Dec. 2014. doi:10.1016/j.jterra.2014.09.003
• Taheri, Sh., Sandu, C., and Taheri, S., “Finite Element Modeling of Tire Transient Characteristics in Dynamic Maneuvers”, SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars – Mechanical Systems, Vol. 7, Issue 1, pp. 221-230, Apr. 2014. doi:10.4271/2014-01-0858 Also presented at 2014 SAE World Congress.
• Taheri, Sh., Sandu, C., and Taheri, S., “Development and Implementation of a Hybrid Soft Soil Tire Model (HSSTM)", Proc. of the 18th Int. Conf. of the ISTVS, Sept. 22-25, Seoul, Korea, 2014. This paper received Best Paper Award.
• Naranjo, S., Sandu, C., Taheri, S., Taheri, Sh., Jayakumar, P., Ross, B., and Christ, D., “Experimental Testing of an Off‐Road Tire in Soft Soil”, Paper no. 81437, The 7th Americas Regional Conference of the ISTVS, Nov. 3‐6, 2013, Tampa, FL, USA
• Sandu, C., Pinto, E., Naranjo, S., Jayakumar, P., and Ross, B., “Off-Road Soft Soil Tire Model and Experimental Testing”, Paper no. 48, 33 pg., Proc. of the 12th European Conf. of the ISTVS, Sept. 24-28, 2012, Pretoria, S. Africa
• Sandu, C., Pinto, E., Naranjo, S., Jayakumar, P., Andonian, A., Hubbell, D., and Ross, B., “Off-Road Soft Soil Tire Model Development, Validation, and Interface to Commercial Multibody Dynamics Software”, Proc. of the 17th Int. Conf. of the ISTVS, Sept. 18-22, 2011, Blacksburg, VA.
• Senatore, C. and Sandu, C., “Torque distribution influence on tractive efficiency and mobility of off-road wheeled vehicles”, J. of Terramechanics, Vol. 48, Issue 5, pp. 372-383 (12), Oct. 2011. doi:10.1016/j.jterra.2011.06.008
• Umsrithong, A. and Sandu, C., “A 3D Semi-Empirical On-road Tire Model”, Paper no. 2010-01-1916, 22 pg, 2010 SAE International Journal of Commercial Vehicles. doi:10.4271/2010-01-1916
• Sandu, C., Worley, M., and Morgan, J. B., “Experimental Study on the Contact Patch Pressure and Sinkage Analysis of a Lightweight Vehicle on Sand”, J. of Terramechanics, Vol. 47, Issue 5, Oct 2010, pp 343-359. doi:10.1016/j.jterra.2010.04.005
• Senatore, C. and Sandu, C., “Off-Road Vehicle Mobility and Energy Efficiency Prediction”, Paper no. 0060, 23 pg, Proc. of Joint 9th Asia-Pacific ISTVS Conf. and Annual Meeting of Japanese Society for Terramechanics, Sept. 27-30, 2010, Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Japan. This paper received the 2010 ISTVS Best Paper Award.
• Lee, R. and Sandu, C., “Terrain Profile Modeling using Stochastic Partial Differential Equations”, Intl J. of Vehicle Systems Modelling and Testing 2009 - Vol. 4, No.4 pp. 318 - 356. doi:10.1504/IJVSMT.2009.032023

Patents/Disclosures:

• “Hybrid Soft Soil Tire Model”, filled Sept. 14, 2015, VTIP16-021, Inventors: Shahyar Taheri, Corina Sandu, Saied Taheri, Virginia Tech.
• “Semi-Analytical Tire Model for Soft Soil Applications”, US Letters Patent Serial No. 61/881056, filled Sept. 23, 2013, VTIP 13-081, Inventors: Corina Sandu, Shahyar Taheri, Saied Taheri, Virginia Tech and Paramsothy Jayakumar, GVSC.

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