Mathematical model of a lightweight three-axle off-road vehicle construction for Arctic zone of Russia
Authors: Agureev I. E. , Bondarenko V. N. 
Published: May 2024

Introduction. The model and results of calculating the smoothness of a light three-axle off-road vehicle for the Arctic zone of Russia are considered. The model on standard approaches and uses a system of assumptions that limits the number of degrees of freedom for the vehicle body to three, as well as one degree of freedom for the unsprung masses is based. The mathematical model is a system of ordinary differential equations and is supplemented with the necessary algebraic equations, as well as initial conditions. The system is integrated using the 4th order RungeKutta method, for which a program was written in C++. The calculations presented in the article demonstrate the possibility of conducting research on the smoothness of a vehicle under conditions of arbitrary terrain, typical for off-road conditions in the winter conditions of the Arctic zone. The dimensions and other parameters of the vehicle were taken from a full-scale model that was used in real expeditions in 2003-2019. Based on the model, suspension characteristics will be developed for a new all-terrain vehicle.

Theory. When operating a wheeled vehicle in a wide range of conditions, even in northern regions, transverseangular vibrations are very often insignificant, so only vertical linear and longitudinal-angular vibrations of the frame can be considered. This problem enables to construct a system of equations of vehicle motion using selected degrees of freedom. From a mathematical point of view, these equations are classified as second-order ordinary differential equations with a variable structure of the right-hand sides, which reflects the non-linear nature of the behavior of the suspension in terms of its geometric constraints.

Methods. The work uses numerical methods to solve the equations of the constructed model, which enables to gradually weaken the accepted assumptions and build more general calculation algorithms. The main integration method for ensuring the stability of solutions is the multi-step Adams method, which, with the correct choice of step, ensures the necessary stability of the solution over sufficiently long model times. However, in this work, the 4th order Runge-Kutta method was adopted, which turned out to be quite sufficient.

Results and conclusions. The paper presents the results of a numerical study of the oscillatory processes of an off-road vehicle during uniform translational motion of the vehicle on a horizontal surface with a given profile of irregularities. The graphs show a transition process of oscillations, which ends with reaching a steady state. The shape of oscillations in a steady state can be irregular and significantly depends on the given speed of the all-terrain vehicle. Analysis of the dependencies presented in the figures shows that the shape of the oscillations of the allterrain vehicle’s frame, as well as the amplitude and frequency, significantly depend on the speed of the vehicle (at a constant road profile). Changing the road profile leads to corresponding changes in the forms and characteristics of forced vibrations of a vehicle on a suspension, which makes it possible to build the necessary amplitude-frequency characteristics, optimize the elastic and dissipative parameters of suspensions, optimize their number and location, and also monitor the movements of arbitrary points at which various units are located.