Title: Terrain profile modelling using stochastic partial differential equations

Authors: Richard Lee, Corina Sandu

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Advanced Vehicle Dynamics Laboratory (AVDL), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 9L Randolph Hall, Blacksburg, Virginia, VA 24061, USA. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Advanced Vehicle Dynamics Laboratory (AVDL), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 104 Randolph Hall, Blacksburg, Virginia, VA 24061, USA

Abstract: For realistic and efficient predictions of vehicle performance in off-road conditions, it is critical to incorporate in the simulation realistic representations of the variability of the terrain profile. Many studies using dedicated modelling techniques and computational methods have been recently conducted to identify effective ways to reduce experimental data in order to preserve only essential information needed to recreate the main terrain characteristics. The method we propose in this paper is to model non-stationary terrain profile in two dimensions using the finite difference approach for solving linear second-order stochastic partial differential equations. Certain assumptions are made for the values of the model coefficients to obtain the terrain profile while preserving the stochastic properties of the original terrain topology. Additional techniques are currently being explored to further refine the estimation of the model coefficients to realistically model the terrain profile.

Keywords: stochastic terrain modelling; stochastic soil properties; wheel-soil interaction; vehicle performance; off-road vehicles; simulation; finite difference method; non-stationary terrain profile; partial differential equations; PDEs.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVSMT.2009.032023

International Journal of Vehicle Systems Modelling and Testing, 2009 Vol.4 No.4, pp.318 - 356

Received: 02 Mar 2009
Accepted: 16 Sep 2009
Published online: 04 Mar 2010 *

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