Title: On the multi-wheeled off-road vehicle performance and control

Authors: Hossam Ragheb; Moustafa El-Gindy; Hossam A. Kishawy

Addresses: University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Automotive, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, 2000 Simcoe Street North, ON L1H 7K4, Canada ' University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Automotive, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, 2000 Simcoe Street North, ON L1H 7K4, Canada ' University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Automotive, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, 2000 Simcoe Street North, ON L1H 7K4, Canada

Abstract: For off-road vehicle applications, the construction of drivetrain system has usually been largely dominated by the mobility requirements. With the growing demand to have a multi-purpose on/off road vehicle with improved manoeuvrability over deformable soil, particularly at higher speed, the challenges opposing vehicle designers have become more complex. In addition to the conventional mechanical torque distribution devices, active torque distribution (ATD) systems utilise active differentials to control the drive torque independently distributed to each driving wheel and accordingly provide active control of traction and yaw moment. In this paper the multi-wheeled off-road vehicle performance and control is presented and different critical aspects are summarised and critically discussed.

Keywords: multi-wheeled vehicles; off-road vehicles; active torque distribution; ATD; mobility; terramechanics; vehicle performance; vehicle control; drivetrain systems; vehicle design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVSMT.2013.056036

International Journal of Vehicle Systems Modelling and Testing, 2013 Vol.8 No.3, pp.260 - 281

Received: 13 Nov 2012
Accepted: 24 Jan 2013
Published online: 19 Jul 2014 *

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