Dynamics of Four-Wheel-Steer Off-Highway Vehicles

Abstract

<div class="htmlview paragraph"><i>Off road vehicle dynamics present fundamental differences to the engineer than those of highway vehicles. In this work, we examine off-road dynamics for a class of industrial vehicles: front-end loaders.</i></div> <div class="htmlview paragraph"><i>After a review of terramechanics and off-road tire behavior, equations of motion for a front-end loader are developed. Kinematic steering relationships, steady-state performance and understeer and oversteer characteristics are also derived. Off-road front-end loader characteristics and performance in terms of vehicle handling, overturn behavior and obstacle avoidance are presented, and some design characteristics and parameter values for a typical vehicle are given to aid the designer in analysis and synthesis.</i></div>