Tractive performance analysis of a lugged wheel by open-source 3D DEM software

Abstract Open-source software (OSS) is free to use and has accessible source codes, thus, it can be modified by various users. By using OSS, it is possible to easily and economically develop a target program for interaction studies in terramechanics. Yet Another Dynamic Engine (YADE) is an OSS for the 3D discrete element method (DEM), but its applicability to various contact interaction problems in terramechanics is not well-known. To investigate the applicability of YADE in terramechanics, the tractive performance of a lugged wheel was analyzed in this study. An idea of a proportional-integral-differential control model was applied to realize the constant rotation of the wheel in YADE. Our previous experiments on the locomotion of a small lugged wheel on a lunar-soil simulant were analyzed by YADE, and the results were found to be qualitatively similar to the obtained experimental results when considering the effects of the lug height, lug thickness, lug number, and wheel diameter. By applying a quasi-2D analysis with the same soil bin width and wheel width, the computational load of 3D DEM by YADE can be reduced up to 36.8% with similar net traction behavior against the wheel slip in a 3D analysis.

[1]  Hiroshi Nakashima,et al.  Investigation of elemental shape for 3D DEM modeling of interaction between soil and a narrow cutting tool , 2013 .

[2]  Jingwei Gao,et al.  Development and numerical validation of an improved prediction model for wheel-soil interaction under multiple operating conditions , 2018, Journal of Terramechanics.

[3]  J. G. Ziegler,et al.  Optimum Settings for Automatic Controllers , 1942, Journal of Fluids Engineering.

[4]  W. Cornelis,et al.  DEM simulation of stress transmission under agricultural traffic Part 1: Comparison with continuum model and parametric study , 2019 .

[5]  R. Sullivan,et al.  Discrete element modeling of a Mars Exploration Rover wheel in granular material , 2012 .

[6]  Huei Peng,et al.  Comparison of discrete element method and traditional modeling methods for steady-state wheel-terrain interaction of small vehicles , 2014 .

[7]  D. Gee-Clough.  Selection of tyre sizes for agricultural vehicles. , 1980 .

[8]  Toshitsugu Tanaka,et al.  Influence of particle size on vertical plate penetration into dense cohesionless granular materials (large-scale DEM simulation using real particle size) , 2019, Granular Matter.

[9]  Yong Huang,et al.  Trafficability analysis of lunar mare terrain by means of the discrete element method for wheeled rover locomotion , 2010 .

[10]  Hiroshi Nakashima,et al.  Parametric analysis of lugged wheel performance for a lunar microrover by means of DEM , 2007 .

[11]  Hiroshi Shimizu,et al.  Discrete element method analysis of single wheel performance for a small lunar rover on sloped terrain , 2010 .

[12]  H. Hertz.  Ueber die Berührung fester elastischer Körper. , 1882 .

[13]  C. Kloss,et al.  Models, algorithms and validation for opensource DEM and CFD-DEM , 2012 .

[14]  Huei Peng,et al.  Modeling of wheel-soil interaction over rough terrain using the discrete element method , 2013 .

[15]  A. Oida.  Application of DEM to simulate interaction between soil and tire lug , 2000 .

[16]  Z. Mroz,et al.  Effect of grain roughness on strength, volume changes, elastic and dissipated energies during quasi-static homogeneous triaxial compression using DEM , 2012 .

[17]  J. Kozicki,et al.  A new open-source software developed for numerical simulations using discrete modeling methods , 2008 .

[18]  Raymond D. Mindlin,et al.  Compliance of elastic bodies in contact , 1949 .

[19]  Bořek Patzák,et al.  OOFEM — an Object-oriented Simulation Tool for Advanced Modeling of Materials and Structures , 2012 .

[20]  Liang Cui,et al.  Experimental and DEM analyses on wheel-soil interaction , 2018 .

[21]  Itzhak Shmulevich,et al.  PREDICTING SOIL-RIGID WHEEL PERFORMANCE USING DISTINCT ELEMENT METHODS , 2006 .

[22]  R. D. Mindlin.  Elastic Spheres in Contact Under Varying Oblique Forces , 1953 .

[23]  Raymond E. Arvidson,et al.  Discrete element method simulations of Mars Exploration Rover wheel performance , 2015 .

[24]  Yutaka Tsuji,et al.  Lagrangian numerical simulation of plug flow of cohesionless particles in a horizontal pipe , 1992 .

[25]  Jan De Pue,et al.  DEM simulation of stress transmission under agricultural traffic Part 2: Shear stress at the tyre-soil interface , 2020 .

[26]  Kittichai Triratanasirichai,et al.  Three-dimensional stress distributions on a tire-sand contact surface☆ , 1991 .

[27]  John C. Wells,et al.  Numerical and experimental studies of gravity effect on the mechanism of lunar excavations , 2009 .

[28]  Félix Darve,et al.  Numerical simulation of drained triaxial test using 3D discrete element modeling , 2009 .

[29]  Eckart Uhlmann,et al.  Discrete Element Modelling of Drag Finishing , 2015 .