Mechanical behaviour of the upper layers of a sandy loam soil under shear loading

The mechanical behaviour of the upper layers of a sandy loam soil was studied under standard triaxial compression and direct shear box tests. Variations of soil material properties were investigated at four different initial dry bulk densities of 1410, 1520, 1610 and 1670 kg/m³. Soil deformation and volume change under the triaxial compression loading were also studied at these bulk densities. Results from the two tests showed increases in the soil mechanical properties with the initial dry bulk density. The internal friction angle values measured with the triaxial compression apparatus exceeded those measured with the direct shear box. In contrast, the soil cohesion values measured with the direct shear box exceeded those measured with the triaxial compression apparatus. Under the triaxial compression test, the loose soil samples underwent contraction and volume reduction, whereas the dense samples swelled and failure cracks appeared clearly at various planes. The soil contraction for the former case characterizes the occurrence of soil compaction, whereas the cracks propagation and volume increase in the latter case characterizes the breaking up and loosening of soil during tillage operations. For the loose and moderately compacted states, the engineering Poisson's ratio increased with the axial strain until loading was completed. It also increased at the compacted and very compacted states until reaching given loading stages, after which its value started to decrease. This shifting in the engineering Poisson's ratio during loading may provide another identification of the moment of soil failure occurrence, in addition to that of the maximum shear stress.     

Traction prediction using soil parameters obtained with an instrumented analog device

A fully instrumented device capable of measuring soil sinkage and shear parameters developed at the Agricultural Engineering Department, University of California, Davis was employed to conduct in situ sinkage and shear tests in a tilled and a farm, dry, Yolo loam soil. Similar tests were also conducted in a tilled, moist Yolo loam soil. An 18.4R38 tire was tested at different levels of inflation pressure and axle loads in these soil conditions. Soil parameters obtained using the instrumented device were related to the traction prediction equation parameters using traction mechanics, principle of conservation of energy and dimensional analysis.     

Measurement of soil parameters useful in predicting tractive ability of off-road vehicles using an instrumented portable device

An instrumented portable device that measures soil sinkage, shear, and frictional parameters in situ was developed to investigate the complexity of soil-traction device interaction process. The device was tested to determine its ability to measure soil frictional and shear characteristics. Extensive laboratory tests were conducted using dry and moist Capay clay and Yolo loam soils. In addition, field tests were also conducted in a Yolo loam field located at the UC Davis Agricultural Experiment Station. The Cohron sheargraph was also tested under the same laboratory experimental conditions to determine adhesion, soil-metal friction, cohesion, and angle of internal friction of soil. The analysis of experimental data indicated that soil adhesion and soil-metal friction were found to be functions of the intercept and slope values of cone torque versus cone index plot (r² = 0.94 and 0.95, respectively). Moreover, soil cohesion was found to be related to adhesion by the constrained adhesion relationship, and soil angle of internal friction was proportional to soil-metal friction as reported by Hettiaratchi [7] and [8]. These results imply that a simpler device consisting of a rotating cone can be developed to measure soil frictional and shear characteristics. Preliminary results showed that the soil parameters determined using this device predicted the maximum net traction developed by four different radial ply tires tested by Upadhyaya et al. [18] under similar soil conditions quite well. These results indicate that the parameters obtained from the device could be useful in obtaining traction related parameters of a soil-tractive device interaction process.     

An unsymmetrical van der pol equation with stable subharmonics

Possible stable subharmonic solutions of the equation

ÿ − k(1 + 2cy − y²)ÿ + Y = bkμ cos μt, c > 0

, klarge, are discussed by the techniques used by J.E. Littlewood for van der Pol's equation in Acta Math. 97 (1957), that is the case of the above equation with c = 0 and

, k large. Their variation as c increases is also considered briefly.     

Automatic control system of a rear-wheel drive vehicle moving on a sloped weak sandy terrain

The general mechanism of tractive performance of a four-wheel vehicle with rear-wheel drive moving up and down a sloped sandy soil has been considered theoretically. For the given vehicle dimensions and terrain-wheel system constants, the relationships among the effective tractive or braking effort of the vehicle, the amount of sinkage of the front and rear wheels, and the slip ratio were analysed by simulation. The optimum eccentricity of the vehicle’s center of gravity and the optimum application height of the drawbar-pull for obtaining the largest value of maximum effective tractive or braking effort could be calculated by means of the analytical simulation program. For a 5.88 kN weight vehicle, it was found that the optimum eccentricity of the center of gravity e_opt was 1/6 for the range of slope angle—0βπ/24 rad during driving action of the rear wheel and e_opt was also 1/6 for the range of slope angle—π/24β0 rad during braking action of the rear wheel. The optimum application height H_opt was found to be 35 cm for the range of slope angle 0βπ/24 rad during driving action of the rear wheel and H_opt was 0 cm for the range of slope angle—π/24β0 rad during braking action of the rear wheel.     

Visualization and analysis of wheel camber angle effect for slope traversability using an in-wheel camera

This paper visualizes and analyzes an effect of a wheel camber angle for the slope traversability in sandy terrain. An in-wheel camera developed in this work captures the wheel-soil contact phenomenon generated beneath the wheel through a transparent section of the wheel surface. The images taken by the camera are then analyzed using the particle image velocimetry. The soil flows with various wheel camber angles are analyzed with regard to the soil failure observed on the slope surface. The analysis reveals that the slope failure and soil accumulation in front of the wheel significantly affect the wheel forces and distributions of the wheel sinkage in the wheel width direction. Further, the side force of the wheel in traversing a slope decreases as the slip ratio increases because the shear stress in the slope downward direction decreases owing to the slope failure.     

Experimental study on wheel-soil interaction mechanics using in-wheel sensor and particle image velocimetry part II. Analysis and modeling of shear stress of lightweight wheeled vehicle

Wheeled vehicle mobility on loose sand is highly subject to shear deformation of sand around the wheel because the shear stress generates traction force of the wheel. The main contribution of this paper is to improve a shear stress model for a lightweight wheeled vehicle on dry sand. This work exploits two experimental approaches, an in-wheel sensor and a particle image velocimetry that precisely measure the shear stress and shear deformation generated at the interaction boundary. Further, the paper improves a shear stress model. The model proposed in this paper considers a force chain generated inside the granular media, boundary friction between the wheel surface and sand, and velocity dependency of the friction. The proposed model is experimentally validated, and its usefulness is confirmed through numerical simulation of the wheel traction force. The simulation result confirmed that the proposed model calculated the traction force with an accuracy about 70%, whereas the conventional one overestimated the force, and its accuracy was 13% at the best.     

Semi-empirical traction prediction equations based on relevant soil parameters

Extensive single-wheel traction tests were conducted in the vicinity of UC Davis campus using four different radial ply tires, two soil types, four soil conditions, three levels of inflation pressures, and three axle loads. Soil sinkage and shear characteristics were also obtained using an instrumented soil test device in every test condition. These field data were analyzed to obtain semi-empirical traction prediction equations for radial ply tires. In general, these prediction equations were able to predict traction equation parameters with less than 25% error.     

基于邓肯-张的冻结粉质粘土本构模型试验研究

为研究冻结粉质粘土强度和变形特性,以沈阳地铁DK11+395联络通道处人工冻结粉质粘土为研究对象,通过冻土三轴剪切试验,研究了不同试验条件下冻结粉质粘土的强度和变形特性。试验结果表明：围压、温度和试件初始含水量是影响冻结粉质粘土强度和变形的主要因素。冻结粉质粘土偏应力-应变曲线呈应变硬化型,其破坏强度和切线弹性模量随围压和试件初始含水量的增加而增大,随温度的升高而减小,破坏偏应力比Rf取值在0.79~0.96之间。基于试验数据建立了以上述三因素为影响因子的冻结粉质粘土Duncan-Chang模型。通过回归分析,建立了模型参数a和b与围压、初始含水量和温度之间的线性回归公式。将依据模型计算的偏应力-应变曲线与对比试验曲线相比较,发现两者具有较好的吻合程度,说明建立的模型能够准确反映围压、初始含水量和温度等条件对冻结粉质粘土强度和变形的影响规律。上述研究成果为冻结粉质粘土强度和变形特性的研究提供了参考,为人工冻结法施工提供了指导,具有重要的理论意义和工程应用价值。     

Soil failure under undrained quasi-static and high speed triaxial compression test

Experiments were conducted in unsaturated silty loam and sandy loam soils under undrained conditions. Soil failure under quasi-static and high speed triaxial compression were studied. The amount of energy used in breaking soil specimens was found to be a function of soil moisture content. During undrained quasi-static triaxial compression tests, two cases of brittle failure, a general shear failure and a fragmentation were observed. The test soil specimen broke more by fragmentation than by general shear failure. During undrained high speed triaxial compression tests, the energy use for breaking the soil specimen increased with increase in loading speed up to a certain critical speed range of 4.5–5 m/s, and then it decreased. Two types of soil failure, brittle failure and plastic flow, which were a function of the loading speed, were noticed. At lower speed, dilation of shearing along a slip plane was observed. However, at higher speed, barreling of the cylindrical specimen with top and bottom conical shaped wedges, or only a single wedge with a small crack or fluidization, was observed.     

Soil flow analysis for grouser wheels based on a particle image velocimetry method

This paper presents an analysis, based on a particle image velocimetry method, of soil flow field beneath a grouser wheel traveling over loose soil. Although the grouser wheel is expected to have better traction and mobility over fine, loose soil, its interaction mechanisms with the soil remain to be elucidated. Thus, a particle image velocimetry-based soil flow analysis is conducted to directly observe soil behavior around the grouser wheel. In the experimental analysis, key parameters of the soil flow field, such as general shape, thickness, streamlines of the flow field, soil velocity on the streamlines, and soil failure angle are examined quantitatively. From the results, the soil flow shape periodically changes with wheel rotation, and this change appears, depending on wheel slip varying over time. Furthermore, the experimental result of the soil failure angle differs drastically from its typical theory. These results will contribute to modeling the mechanical interaction between the grouser wheel and soil.     

Estimation of a three-dimensional tyre footprint using dynamic soil–tyre contact pressures

A method for estimating the three-dimensional (3D) footprint of a 16.9R38 pneumatic tyre was developed. The method was based on measured values of contact pressure at the soil–tyre interface and wheel contact length determined from the contact pressures and the depths and widths of ruts formed in the soil. The 3D footprint was investigated in an area of the field where the pressure sensors of the tyre passed in a soft clay soil. The tyre was instrumented with six miniature pressure sensors, three on the lug face and the remaining three on the under-tread region between two lugs. The instrumented tyre was run at a constant forward speed of 0.27 m/s and 23% slip on a soft soil, 0.48 MPa cone index, 25.6% d.b. moisture content for four wheel load and tyre pressure combination treatments. The 3D footprint assessment derived from soil–tyre interface stress used in this research is a unique methodology, which could precisely relate the trend profile of the 3D footprint to the measured rut depth. The tyre–soil interface contact pressure distributions results showed that as inflation pressure increased the soil strength increased significantly near the centre of the tyre as a compaction increase sensed with the cone penetrometer.     

Analysis of soil flow and traction mechanics for lunar rovers over different types of soils using particle image velocimetry

Grouser wheels have been used in planetary rovers to improve mobility performance on sandy terrains. The biggest difference between a wheel with and without grousers is the soil behavior beneath the wheel as the grousers shovel the soil. By analyzing the soil flow, we gain insight into the mechanics dominating the interaction between the wheel and the soil, directly impacting performance. As the soil flow varies depending on the soil properties, the effects of soil type on soil behavior and wheel-traveling performance should be studied. This paper reveals the difference in soil flow and wheel performance on cohesive and non-cohesive soils. We conducted a series of single wheel tests over different types of soils under several wheel-traveling conditions. Soil flow was visualized by using particle image velocimetry (PIV). The experimental results indicate that soil flow characteristics highly depend on the shear strength of the soil. The cohesive soil exhibited lower fluidity due to its higher shear strength. At the same time, the wheel displayed a higher traveling performance over the cohesive soil, that is, a lower slip ratio.     

浙东大运河非饱和粉质黏土抗剪强度特性的试验研究

浙东大运河绍兴段的土体整体上受河流相和海相沉积的影响,地质条件非常复杂．其中粉质黏土作为浅表层土体,受雨水影响较大,其状态经常处于饱和状态与非饱和状态之间．为了进一步探究绍兴段典型非饱和粉质黏土的稳定性差异,以及本构关系和强度指标的变化规律,通过全自动非饱和土应力路径三轴仪,对试验土样进行了三轴剪切试验．试验结果表明,初始干密度从1.4 g/cm3增加到1.6 g/cm3时,土体的抗剪强度、总黏聚力、有效内摩擦角和吸附内摩擦角均增大,应力-应变关系曲线由应变硬化型向应变软化型转变,并且基质吸力和净围压越大,区别越明显;基质吸力从0增加到300 kPa时,土体的抵抗变形能力提高,抗剪强度和总黏聚力增大,有效内摩擦角基本无明显变化,吸附内摩擦角逐渐减小．研究结果揭示了浙东大运河绍兴段非饱和粉质黏土的抗剪强度特性的变化规律,为该地域土质边坡、基坑等工程提供理论依据．     

Net traction ratio prediction for high-lug agricultural tyre

A study was conducted to determine the accuracy of Wismer-Luth and Brixius equations in predicting net traction ratio of a high-lug agricultural tyre. The tyre was tested on a sandy clay loam soil in an indoor University Putra Malaysia (UPM) tyre traction testing facility. The experiment was conducted by running the tyre in driving mode. A total of 126 test runs were conducted in a combination consisting of three selected inflation pressures (i.e., 166, 193 and 221 kPa) and two wheel numerics (i.e., 19 and 29) representing two extreme types of soil strength under different levels of travel reduction ranging between 0% and 40%. Regression analysis was conducted to determine the prediction equation describing the tyre torque ratio. Marqurdt’s method used by Wismer-Luth for predicting non-linear equation was not found suitable in predicting the torque ratio of the test tyre awing its low coefficient of determination and inadequacy. The logarithmic model was found suitable in torque ration prediction. From analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) the mean effect of travel speed, tyre inflation pressure and wheel numeric on tyre net traction ratio were found to be highly significant, while the interaction of inflation pressure and wheel numeric was not significant. The 193 kPa inflation pressure was found the best, among the three inflation pressures used, in getting higher net traction ratio and higher maximum efficiency. Finally, two models were formulated for tyre net traction ratio; one in terms of wheel numeric and travel speed reduction and the other in terms of mobility number and travel reduction, to describe the tested tyre performance at different soil strengths.     

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF WATER-COOLED GRANITE UNDER HIGH TEMPERATURE1)

通过对高温加热-遇水快速冷却后的花岗岩试样进行单轴和三轴实验,研究了800°C内高温花岗岩遇水快速冷却后的力学性质随温度和围压的变化规律。实验结果表明：(1)400°C为高温加热-遇水快速冷却对花岗岩力学性质影响的阈值;(2)同一温度条件下,峰值偏应力、峰值应变随围压的增大而增大;弹性模量随围压的增大先增大后减小;(3)单轴实验中,温度低于400°C时,岩样表现为复合破坏,随着温度的升高破坏形式转变为拉破坏;三轴实验中,岩样整体上表现为剪切破坏。     

The effect of velocity on rigid wheel performance

A simulation model to predict the effect of velocity on rigid-wheel performance for off-road terrain was examined. The soil–wheel simulation model is based on determining the forces acting on a wheel in steady state conditions. The stress distribution at the interface was analyzed from the instantaneous equilibrium between wheel and soil elements. The soil was presented by its reaction to penetration and shear. The simulation model describes the effect of wheel velocity on the soil–wheel interaction performances such as: wheel sinkage, wheel slip, net tractive ratio, gross traction ratio, tractive efficiency and motion resistance ratio. Simulation results from several soil-wheel configurations corroborate that the effect of velocity should be considered. It was found that wheel performance such as net tractive ratio and tractive efficiency, increases with increasing velocity. Both, relative wheel sinkage and relative free rolling wheel force ratio, decrease as velocity increases. The suggested model improves the performance prediction of off-road operating vehicles and can be used for applications such as controlling and improving off-road vehicle performance.     

Shear-free turbulent diffusion—classical and new scaling laws

We consider the problem of turbulence generation at a vibrating grid in the x₂–x₃ plane. Turbulence diffuses in the x₁-direction. Analyzing the multi-point correlation equation using Lie-group analysis, we find three different invariant solutions (scaling laws): classical diffusion-like solution (heat equation like), decelerating diffusion-wave solution and finite domain diffusion due to rotation. All solutions have been obtained using Lie-group (symmetry) methods. It is shown that if only one spatial dimension is considered, models based on Reynolds averaging are only capable to model either the diffusion-like solution or the decelerating diffusion-wave solution. The latter solution is only admitted under certain algebraic constraints on the model constants; e.g. in case of the K– model the model constants need to obey the relation c₂σ/σ_K=2. Turbulent diffusion on a finite domain induced by rotation is not admitted by any of the classical models. Finally, in the appendix it is shown that Lele's transformation (Phys. Fluids 28(1) (1985) 64) leads to a complete analytic solution of the steady diffusion problem modelled by the K– equation.     

An instrumented drive axle to measure tire tractive performance

An instrumented drive axle is introduced for a prototype tractor using in field research on tractor and implement performance. This mechanism was developed to determine whether such an instrumented drive axle is practical. The drive axle was equipped with a set of transducers to measure wheel angular velocity, rear axle torque and dynamic weight, as well as tire side forces. Measuring the drawbar pull acting on the tractor provides data for calculating net traction, motion resistance and chassis resistance for each driven wheel.