Title: Integration of ANCF continuum-based soil plasticity for off-road vehicle mobility in multibody system dynamics

Authors: Ulysses Contreras; Antonio M. Recuero; Paramsothy Jayakumar; Craig D. Foster; Michael D. Letherwood; David J. Gorsich; Ahmed A. Shabana

Addresses: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, 842 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60607, USA ' Computational Dynamics Inc., 1809 Wisconsin Ave, Berwyn, IL 60402, USA ' U.S. Army RDECOM-TARDEC, 6501 E. 11 Mile Road, Warren, MI 48397-5000, USA ' Department of Civil and Materials Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, 842 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60607, USA ' U.S. Army RDECOM-TARDEC, 6501 E. 11 Mile Road, Warren, MI 48397-5000, USA ' U.S. Army RDECOM-TARDEC, 6501 E. 11 Mile Road, Warren, MI 48397-5000, USA ' Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, 842 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60607, USA

Abstract: In this paper, we outline the formulation and implementation of an inelastic continuum-based soil model in a multibody system (MBS) simulation environment. The generality of the approach allows for the simulation of general vehicle manoeuvres over unprepared terrain. Unlike other approaches, both the material and vehicle in this investigation can be altered independently. This ability allows for a greater degree of freedom in the design of computational models for the evaluation of off-road tracked vehicles. In this investigation, the soil model is developed using a hexahedral absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF) finite element. The Drucker-Prager plastic material is used to model the behaviour of the soil and offers a good starting point for computational plasticity in terramechanics applications. A convergence study for a single link interacting with ANCF soil is provided. The capabilities and generality of this implementation is demonstrated using an armoured personnel carrier (APC) model.

Keywords: flexible multibody systems; MBS; continuum-based soil plasticity; off-road vehicles; vehicle mobility; multibody system dynamics; tracked vehicles; ANCF; absolute nodal coordinate formulation; terramechanics; computational plasticity; geomechanics; simulation; soil modelling; armoured personnel carriers; APC models; vehicle dynamics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVP.2017.081267

International Journal of Vehicle Performance, 2017 Vol.3 No.1, pp.36 - 70

Received: 09 Jan 2016
Accepted: 30 May 2016
Published online: 01 Jan 2017 *

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