Macroscopic effects of inter and intra particle dynamics on vehicle mobility using nonlocal particle based modeling

Abstract

A nonlocal particle-based computational platform based on the coupling of peridynamics and discrete element method (PeriDEM) is introduced for the simulation of a vehicle wheel rolling over gravel beds, where various gravel particle geometry, topology, deformablity, and fracture toughness are accommodated. Comparison of dynamic vehicle mobility measures including longitudinal displacement, velocity, and slip for transit over particle beds consisting of different gravel geometries and topologies are carried out. The effect of gravel shape on the horizontal displacement, velocity, and slip of the wheel is investigated through numerical simulation. The effect of gravel particle geometry on the overall energy needed to travel a prescribed distance is investigated. Particle geometry and topology affects particle damage, and consequently influences macroscopic transport properties. Our simulations show that the driving torque exhibits a monotonically increasing trend with increasing slip and follows the trend seen in experiments.