Shashank Agarwal, MIT | ISTVS Student Research Seminar
Channel: ISTVS
Date: 2021-09-16

Shashank Agarwal | graduate researcher
Kamrin Group | MechE | MIT
Reduced-order modeling of granular intrusions with continuum and empirical approaches

Granular intrusions such as vehicular and animal locomotion in deserts and natural terrains are common in natural and human-made scenarios. The field of ‘terramechanics’ uses numerous established methods for the performance evaluation of such systems. But such methods have limited performance in modeling complex intruder motions such as animal locomotion. In recent years, a variety of new continuum and empirical modeling methods have shown great potential to efficiently model such systems. In this talk, we will discuss the applicability and efficacy of continuum modeling methods in studying diverse granular intrusions. We will also discuss granular resistive force theory (RFT), a continuously evolving method for evaluation of forces on arbitrary objects moving arbitrarily in natural terrains in real-time.