Multibody System Modelling and Simulation of Planetary Rover Mobility on Soft Terrain

For planetary rovers often very unconventional suspension and tyre designs are investigated. With the possibility of Multibody System (MBS) simulation one has the unique opportunity to investigate a wide range of potential configurations and terrains and, moreover, the importance of the dynamical effects can be efficiently taken into account. The main goal is to reduce the amount of costly prototypes and give assistance in field experiments. A great advantage is the integration of the Multibody System simulation and the very complex tyre-soil interaction into the vehicle’s conceptual design process. This ranges from kinematic investigations for gradeability, maximum step crossing and side slope driving up to investigations of tyre-soil interaction with respect to tyre sinkage and rolling resistance. In this paper the focus lies on the simulation of longitudinal slip of tyres on soft soil which is important to bear in mind when considering driven wheels and, furthermore, slip sinkage behaviour.