CO-SIMULATION OF MBD MODELS WITH DEM CODE TO PREDICT MOBILITY ON SOFT SOIL

Simulating the behavior of tracked and wheeled vehicles over soft soil terrains requires modeling the individual behavior of both the vehicle and the soil, as well as the dynamic interaction between the vehicle and the terrain. Various shortcomings with traditional methodologies have limited the ability to fully model the mobility and performance of vehicles on deformable terrain. This paper chronicles the process for taking validated MultiBody Dynamics (MBD) full-vehicle models in Adams and integrating them with 3D Discrete Element Models (DEM) of soft soil particles in EDEM. Both wheeled and tracked vehicles are simulated with various vehicle events and the results are analyzed. A discussion of the relationship between the Bekker-Wong parameters and the DEM characterization is presented, along with an example of a testing procedure for calibrating the DEM particles against their Bekker-Wong equivalent.