Terrain profile modelling using stochastic partial differential equations Online publication date: Thu, 04-Mar-2010
by Richard Lee, Corina Sandu
International Journal of Vehicle Systems Modelling and Testing (IJVSMT), Vol. 4, No. 4, 2009
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.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Vehicle Systems Modelling and Testing (IJVSMT):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook