Validation of a New Road and Contact Model for Vehicle-Soft Soil Terrain Interaction through an Elaborate Modeling of the FED-Alpha Vehicle

Employing multibody dynamic simulations with semi-empirical tire models is widely recognized as a cost-effective approach. A recent development introduces a novel road and tire-soil contact model that is not only swift and memory-efficient but also addresses limitations in classical semi-empirical models. This study conducts a thorough validation of the new road and contact model by creating a detailed multibody model of the four-wheeled vehicle, Fuel Efficiency Demonstrator (FED) – Alpha, integral to NATO's Next-Generation reference mobility model. The comprehensive model encompasses the chassis, suspension, tires, engine, transmission and various other components. Through simulations of various driving scenarios, accounting for complex terrain geometries, spatially varying soil properties, and multi-pass phenomena, the model's performance is evaluated. The simulation results are compared with physical measurements, providing a detailed assessment of the tire-soil model's predictive accuracy for wheeled vehicle mobility on deformable terrains.