Study on control mechanism for turning of tracked vehicles with twin driving

Turning mechanism is important assemblies for tracked vehicles. Turning performance is important evaluating indicator. The performance of the turning mechanism directly affect the mobility and productivity of the crawler. However, there are still some problems crying out for solutions in superior turning mechanism for vehicle engineering area. Composition and performance of turning system in agricultural tracked vehicles matched with twin driving differential turning mechanism was introduced, which adopted quiet hydraulic double pumps and double motors, took advantage of flexibility greatly for track vehicle turning and benefit for handling used steering wheel.

Simulation study on starting of dual clutch transmission for tracked vehicles

In order to study the application of dual clutch transmission （DCT） on tracked vehicles, a simulation moclel and two control methods were performed for starting analysis. Based on a certain transmission of an existing tracked vehicle, a DCT structure was proposed. Matlab/Simulink was a dopted as a platform to develop the simulation model. The engine speed was controlled to follow the target speed as a launch strategy. Two control methods, a proportional integral derivative （ PID ） control method and a fuzzy control method, were proposed to control the engine throttle and oil pressure in order to track the target engine speed. Simulation results show that either the PID control or fuzzy control method can improve the starting performance compared with no loop control meth od. Fuzzy control method can lead a better starting quality compared with PID control method.

Track Tension Analysis of Four-Wheel Drive Tracked Vehicles

The distribution of track tension on track link is complex when the tracked vehicles run at a high speed.A multi-drive track link structure,which changes the traditional induction wheel into the driving wheel was proposed.The mathematical model of the system was established and the distribution of track tension was studied.The combined simulation model of RecurDyn and Simulink of the structure with multi-drive track was established.The simulation results show that our proposed structure has more uniform tension distribution than traditional structures,especially under the high speed condition.The maximum tension can be reduced by 28 kN-36 kN and the transmission efficiency can be improved by10%-16% under high speed condition with this new structure.

Fuzzy Logic Control for Suspension Systems of Tracked Vehicles

A scheme of fuzzy logic control for the suspension system of a tracked vehicle is presented. A mechanical model for the whole body of a tracked vehicle, which is totally a fifteen-degree-of-freedom system, is established. The model includes the vertical motion, the pitch motion as well as the roll motion of the tracked vehicle. In contrast to most previous studies, the coupling effect among the vertical, the pitch and the roll motions of the suspension system of a tracked vehicle is considered simultaneously. The simulation of fuzzy logic control under road surface with random excitation shows that the acceleration, pitch angle and roll angle of suspension system can be efficiently controlled.

Control strategy for hybrid tracked vehicles using fuzzy logic

To solve the problem of power distribution for hybrid tracked vehicles （HTV）, a supervi- sory control strategy is proposed. Firstly, power system integration is analyzed and modeled. Then the control algorithm is given. Two fuzzy logics are used to realize the coordination control over each power unit. One controls power distribution based on the load power and battery state of charge （SOC）. The other manage the power during regenerating braking. To validate the presented control strategy, a ＂driver and controller＂ in the loop simulation platform is built based on dSPACE system and real-time simulation is made. The simulation results show that the strategy presented can solve the power distribution problem of hybrid tracked vehicles correctly and effectively.

Numerical Prediction of Ride Comfort of Tracked Vehicle Equipped with Novel Flexible Road Wheels

Enhancing ride comfort has always constituted a crucial focus in the design and research of modern tracked vehicles,heavily reliant on the driving system's performance.While the road wheel is a key component of the driving system,traditional road wheels predominantly adopt a solid structure,exhibiting subpar adhesion performance and damping effects,thereby falling short of meeting the demands for high-speed,stable,and long-distance driving in tracked vehicles.Addressing this issue,this paper proposes a novel type of flexible road wheel(FRW)characterized by a catenary construction.The study investigates the ride comfort of tracked vehicles equipped with flexible road wheels by integrating finite element and vehicle dynamic.First,three-dimensional(3D)finite element(FE)models of both flexible and rigid road wheels are established,considering material and contact nonlinearities.These models are validated through a wheel radial loading test.Based on the validated FE model,the paper uncovers the relationship between load and radial deformation of the road wheel,forming the basis for a nonlinear mathematical model.Subsequently,a half-car model of a tracked vehicle with seven degrees of freedom is established using Newton's second law.A random road model,considering the track effect and employing white noise,is constructed.The study concludes by examining the ride comfort of tracked vehicles equipped with flexible and rigid road wheels under various speeds and road grades.The results demonstrate that,in comparison to the rigid road wheel(RRW),the flexible road wheel enhances the ride comfort of tracked vehicles on randomly uneven roads.This research provides a theoretical foundation for the implementation of flexible road wheels in tracked vehicles.

High-speed tracked vehicle model order reduction for static and dynamic simulations

In this paper, a model order reduction strategy is adopted for the static and dynamic behaviour simulation of a high-speed tracked vehicle. The total number of degree of freedom of the structure is condensed through a selection of interface degrees of freedom and significant global mode shapes, for an approximated description of vehicle dynamic behaviour. The methodology is implemented in a customised open-source software to reduce the computational efforts. The modelled tracked vehicle includes the sprung mass, the unsprung masses, connected by means of torsional bars, and all the track assemblies, composing the track chain. The proposed research activity presents a comprehensive investigation of the influence of the track chain, combined with longitudinal vehicle speed, on statics and vehicle dynamics, focusing on vertical dynamics. The vehicle response has been investigated both in frequency and time domain. In this last case road-wheel displacements are assumed as inputs for the model, under different working conditions, hence considering several road profiles with different amplitudes and characteristic excitation frequencies. Simulation results have proven a high fidelity in model order reduction approach and a significant contribution of the track chain in the global dynamic behaviour of the tracked vehicle.

Shadow Extraction and Elimination of Moving Vehicles for Tracking Vehicles

Shadow extraction and elimination is essential for intelligent transportation systems(ITS)in vehicle tracking application.The shadow is the source of error for vehicle detection,which causes misclassification of vehicles and a high false alarm rate in the research of vehicle counting,vehicle detection,vehicle tracking,and classification.Most of the existing research is on shadow extraction of moving vehicles in high intensity and on standard datasets,but the process of extracting shadows from moving vehicles in low light of real scenes is difficult.The real scenes of vehicles dataset are generated by self on the Vadodara–Mumbai highway during periods of poor illumination for shadow extraction of moving vehicles to address the above problem.This paper offers a robust shadow extraction of moving vehicles and its elimination for vehicle tracking.The method is distributed into two phases:In the first phase,we extract foreground regions using a mixture of Gaussian model,and then in the second phase,with the help of the Gamma correction,intensity ratio,negative transformation,and a combination of Gaussian filters,we locate and remove the shadow region from the foreground areas.Compared to the outcomes proposed method with outcomes of an existing method,the suggested method achieves an average true negative rate of above 90%,a shadow detection rate SDR(η%),and a shadow discrimination rate SDR(ξ%)of 80%.Hence,the suggested method is more appropriate for moving shadow detection in real scenes.

Configuration design and control of hybrid tracked vehicle with three planetary gear sets

The hybrid tracked vehicles(HTV)usually adopt series hybrid powertrain with extra steering mechanism,which has relatively low transmission efficiency and reduces the flexibility of structural arrangement.To overcome the disadvantages,a new kind of single-mode powertrain has been proposed.The power-split hybrid powertrain is composed of three planetary gear(PG)sets connected to one engine,left and right track outputs,and three motors.The proposed powertrain can realize steering while going forward by controlling the output torque on each side without extra steering mechanism or steering shaft.Due to the diversity of the connection way between components and planetary gear sets,a rapid configuration design approach is proposed for the design selection of HTV.The automated dynamic modelling method can show the one-to-one correspondence with the selected feasible groups by establishing two characteristic matrices,which is more simple than other researches.The analytically-based method is proposed to classify all possible connection designs into several groups to decrease the searching scope with improved design efficiency.Finally,the optimal control strategy is used to find the design with optimal fuel economy under typical condition of HTV.The case study is implemented by the proposed design approach which demonstrates better design performances compared with the existing series-hybrid HTV.

Semantic Segmentation and YOLO Detector over Aerial Vehicle Images

Intelligent vehicle tracking and detection are crucial tasks in the realm of highway management.However,vehicles come in a range of sizes,which is challenging to detect,affecting the traffic monitoring system’s overall accuracy.Deep learning is considered to be an efficient method for object detection in vision-based systems.In this paper,we proposed a vision-based vehicle detection and tracking system based on a You Look Only Once version 5(YOLOv5)detector combined with a segmentation technique.The model consists of six steps.In the first step,all the extracted traffic sequence images are subjected to pre-processing to remove noise and enhance the contrast level of the images.These pre-processed images are segmented by labelling each pixel to extract the uniform regions to aid the detection phase.A single-stage detector YOLOv5 is used to detect and locate vehicles in images.Each detection was exposed to Speeded Up Robust Feature(SURF)feature extraction to track multiple vehicles.Based on this,a unique number is assigned to each vehicle to easily locate them in the succeeding image frames by extracting them using the feature-matching technique.Further,we implemented a Kalman filter to track multiple vehicles.In the end,the vehicle path is estimated by using the centroid points of the rectangular bounding box predicted by the tracking algorithm.The experimental results and comparison reveal that our proposed vehicle detection and tracking system outperformed other state-of-the-art systems.The proposed implemented system provided 94.1%detection precision for Roundabout and 96.1%detection precision for Vehicle Aerial Imaging from Drone(VAID)datasets,respectively.

Seismic modelling of tracked-vehicle signals for monitoring and verifi cation

To better understand characteristics of seismic signals of tracked vehicles measured when passing a sensor line,we numerically modelled force-pulse responses of a layered soil that is similar in its seismic properties to that found at the original measurement site.The vertical-force pulses from the road wheels rolling over the track elements are fitted to the measured ones.Single-pulse seismic waves vary with distance due to diff erent wave types,refl ections at layer boundaries,vehicle velocity and relative position of the left and right track elements.They are computed by a modelling program and superposed at sensor positions with the appropriate slant distance and time shift for each track element.These sum signals are in qualitative agreement with those from the original measurements.However,they are several magnitudes weaker and much smoother.Furthermore,higher frequencies are damped much less at larger distances.Due to the large variability of the sum signals,recognition of tracked-vehicle types exclusively through their seismic signals seems diffi cult.

Telematics as a Transformative Agent for the Zimbabwean Auto Insurance Ecosystem

Zimbabwe has witnessed the evolution of Information Communication Technology (ICT). The vehicle population soared to above 1.2 million hence rendering the Transport and Insurance domains complex. Therefore, there is a need to look at ways that can augment conventional Vehicular Management Information Systems (VMIS) in transforming business processes through Telematics. This paper aims to contextualise the role that telematics can play in transforming the Insurance Ecosystem in Zimbabwe. The main objective was to investigate the integration of Usage-Based Insurance (UBI) with vehicle tracking solutions provided by technology companies like Econet Wireless in Zimbabwe, aiming to align customer billing with individual risk profiles and enhance the synergy between technology and insurance service providers in the motor insurance ecosystem. A triangulation through structured interviews, questionnaires, and literature review, supported by Information Systems Analysis and Design techniques was conducted. The study adopted a case study approach, qualitatively analyzing the complexities of the Telematics insurance ecosystem in Zimbabwe, informed by the TOGAF framework. A case-study approach was applied to derive themes whilst applying within and cross-case analysis. Data was collected using questionnaires, and interviews. The findings of the research clearly show the importance of Telematics in modern-day insurance and the positive relationship between technology and insurance business performance. The study, therefore revealed how UBI can incentivize positive driver behavior, potentially reducing insurance premiums for safe drivers and lowering the incidence of claims against insurance companies. Future work can be done on studying the role of Telematics in combating highway crime and corruption.

Dynamic Simulation of Tracked Vehicle Using the DADS Software

The track model used in the dynamic analysis and design system software is investigated. A home made tank is taken as an example to illustrate the method for modeling an integral tracked vehicle and perform the dynamic simulation. The obtained results have demonstrated that the simulation method has the advantage of high efficiency, more convenience and more insight into the dynamical behavior of the system.

NONLINEAR ESTIMATION METHODS FOR AUTONOMOUS TRACKED VEHICLE WITH SLIP

In order to achieve precise,robust autonomous guidance and control of a tracked vehicle,a kinematic model with longitudinal and lateral slip is established,Four different nonlinear filters are used to estimate both state vector and time-varying parameter vector of the created model jointly.The first filter is the well-known extended Kalman filter.The second filter is an unscented version of the Kalman filter.The third one is a particle filter using the unscented Kalman filter to generate the importance proposal distribution.The last one is a novel and guaranteed filter that uses a linear set-membership estimator and can give an ellipsoid set in which the true state lies.The four different approaches have different complexities,behavior and advantages that are surveyed and compared.

Turning traction force of tracked mining vehicle based on rheological property of deep-sea sediment

Based on main physical and mechanical properties of deep-sea sediment from C-C poly-metallic nodule mining area in the Pacific Ocean, the best sediment simulant was successfully prepared by mixing bentonite with a certain content of water. Compression-shear coupling rheological constitutive model of the sediment simulant was established by endochronic theory and the coupling rheological parameters were obtained by compressive and compression-shear creep tests. A new calculation formula of turning traction force of the tracked mining vehicle was first derived based on the coupling rheological model and consideration of pushing resistance and sinkage of the tracked mining vehicle. Effects of the turning velocity, crawler spacing and contacting length of crawler with deep-sea sediment on the turning traction force were analyzed. Research results can provide theoretical foundation for operation safety and optimal design of the tracked mining vehicle.

A Study on the Dynamic Analysis of A Tracked Vehicle for Ocean Mining on the Deep Seabed

A study is presented on the dynamic analysis of a tracked vehicle for mining on the deep seabed of very soft soil. Equations for the interaction between the track and extremely soft seabed are employed to develop a track/soil interaction module called TVAS. The vehicle is modeled as a multibody dynamic system by the use of a multibody dynamic analysis program. The module developed is cooperated with the multibody dynamic analysis program with a user-defined subroutine. The dynamic behavior and the conceptual design of the mining vehicle on the deep seabed are investigated.

Predicting the sinkage of a moving tracked mining vehicle using a new rheological formulation for soft deep-sea sediment

The sinkage of a moving tracked mining vehicle is greatly af fected by the combined compression-shear rheological properties of soft deep-sea sediments. For test purposes, the best sediment simulant is prepared based on soft deep-sea sediment from a C-C poly-metallic nodule mining area in the Pacific Ocean. Compressive creep tests and shear creep tests are combined to obtain compressive and shear rheological parameters to establish a combined compressive-shear rheological constitutive model and a compression-sinkage rheological constitutive model. The combined compression-shear rheological sinkage of the tracked mining vehicle at dif ferent speeds is calculated using the Recur Dyn software with a selfprogrammed subroutine to implement the combined compression-shear rheological constitutive model. The model results are compared with shear rheological sinkage and ordinary sinkage(without consideration of rheological properties). These results show that the combined compression-shear rheological constitutive model must be taken into account when calculating the sinkage of a tracked mining vehicle. The combined compression-shear rheological sinkage decrease with vehicle speed and is the largest among the three types of sinkage. The developed subroutine in the Recur Dyn software can be used to study the performance and structural optimization of moving tracked mining vehicles.

Study on Steering Control Strategy for High-Speed Tracked Vehicle with Hydrostatic Drive

Steering control strategy for high-speed tracked vehicle with hydrostatic drive is designed based on analyzing the fundamental steering theories of the hydrostatic drive tracked vehicle. The strategy is completed by the cooperation between integrated steering control unit and pump ＆ motor displacement controller. The steering simulation is conducted by using Simulink of Matlab. It is indicated that this steering control strategy can reduce the average vehicle speed automatically to achieve the driver＇s expected steering radius exactly in the case of en- suring not exceeding the system pressure threshold and no sideslip.

Neuron PI control for semi-active suspension system of tracked vehicle

A neuron proportion integration (PI) control strategy for semi-active suspension system of tracked vehicle was proposed based on its unique structure and the multiple and complex environment of the driving traffic. An adaptive genetic algorithm is used to optimize the parameters of the neuron PI controller. The simulation result of the neuron PI control for semi-active suspension system of tracked vehicle indicates that the vertical amplitude,pitch angle and vertical acceleration of the vehicle are well controlled. The root mean square (RMS) of the vertical amplitude decreases by 37.2%,and 45.2% for the pitch angle,38.6% for the vertical acceleration. The research of neuron PI control experiment for the semi-active suspension system of the tracked vehicle model mining in benthal indicates that the RMS of the weight acceleration vibrating along the vertical direction decreases by 29.5%,the power spectral density resonance peak of the acceleration of the car body decreases by 23.8%.

A smart calibration model on track's pressure-sinkage characteristic of a tracked vehicle moving on soft seabed sediments

The bentonite-water mixture was selected as the substitute of seabed sediments according to the in-situ measurement data of sediments 15-20 cm deep in China's ocean poly-metallic mining contract area and the soft seabed sediments could be simulated with certain proportion of the bentonite and water; besides, based on the theory on the interaction between the vehicle and ground and referenced to Bekker's apparatus and related experimental methods, a scenario on the experimental system of the pressure-sinkage characteristics of interaction between the track of tracked vehicle and soft seabed sediments was designed. The pressure-sinkage experiments were performed with different dimensions of penetration plates. The "pressure-sinkage" model based on Bekker's formula and correlation parameters were obtained to describe the corresponding characteristics of the seabed sediments and a smart calibration model on the pressure-sinkage characteristic of the track was established based on the function chain neural network, which could provide boundary loading conditions for simulation analysis of the tracked vehicle moving on the seabed.