Off-Road Soft Terrain Modeling Using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Technique

Soil modeling and calibration are the preliminary steps towards tire-soil interaction prediction. This paper presents soil calibration methods using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics technique (SPH). Calibration of soil comprises several models including dry sand, dense sand, and clayey soil. Furthermore, snow terrain properties provided in terramechanics literature are investigated and modeled using SPH technique. First, the soil material properties are collected from terramechanics published data. Then, two soil validation tests are performed to predict soil characteristics, namely the pressure-sinkage test and the direct shear-strength test. Both tests are repeated while varying targeted parameters, and compared to results provided from terramechanics physical measurements. Finally, optimal soil results are presented and discussed. The objective of this paper is to accurately model and validate SPH terrain materials. Additionally, the sensitivity of several SPH parameters and their effect on soil behavior is investigated. The results obtained from this study will be beneficial for modeling and simulation of tire-terrain interaction research.