Off-road vehicle performance of a multi-wheeled 8×8 combat vehicle is strongly affected by the tire-terrain interaction characteristics. Soft soil reduces traction and modifies vehicle handling; therefore tire dynamics play a strong role in off-road mobility evaluation.
In this paper three-dimensional, non-linear Finite Element Analysis (FEA) off-road tire models are developed using PAM-CRASH and the general trends of vertical load-deflection, cornering characteristics and aligning moment on rigid terrains are predicted and compared with published, measured data of a similar tire for validation purposes.
The FEA off-road tire models are used to investigate the multi-pass behavior of the wheels running and steering on soft terrain. The steering characteristics of the multi-wheels are also predicted for the purpose of the development of tire-soft soil empirical equations for future research work.