Power Consumption Models for Tracked and Wheeled Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles on Deformable Terrains.

[摘要] Small unmanned ground vehicles (SUGVs) are widely used in nuclear, military, space exploration, agriculture, mining, and construction applications. Energy storage, management, and efficient conversion are always critical issues for SUGV designs and controls, and fast and accurate power consumption models are required to avoid immobilization by energy depletion or reduced traction capability.This dissertation studies methods to improve the locomotion power consumption modeling for both tracked and wheeled SUGVs. As SUGVs are usually operated off-road, terramechanics models can be used to capture the relationship between the running gear and terrain. Most SUGVs use skid steering because of its simplicity and robustness. However, due to the sliding between the running gear and terrain, skid steering can consume a lot of the propulsion power. Thus the skid steering must be included in the power consumption models of SUGVs.Single track-terrain and single wheel-terrain interaction are first studied and modeled based on terramechanics theory. Skid steering maneuver is then studied using three widely used models of tracked vehicles. None of these models achieve desired computation efficiency and accuracy simultaneously. We subsequently developed a finite element skid steering (FESS) model, which is used for both tracked and wheeled vehicles, and achieve the same accuracy as Wong’s model and in the meantime is computationally efficient. The accuracy of the FESS model is validated by experiments using a 6-wheel-drive track/wheel interchangeable test robot on dry sand. Two case studies are conducted on an imaginary Packbot (in 4-wheel, 6-wheel, and track configurations) in two missions (patrolling an area and search and retrieve). Finally, a design comparison between tracked and wheeled configurations on SUGVs is studied, and general conclusions regarding power consumption and mobility are drawn.

[发布机构] University of Michigan

[效力级别] Mechanical Engineering

[关键词] Power Consumption Modeling for SUGVs;Mechanical Engineering;Engineering;Mechanical Engineering