Physical models of off-road vehicles moving on loose soils

Soils in natural environments present complex dynamical behaviors: rolling stones, deformations, compressions, avalanches and collapses. The geometry of the terrain can be highly modified by the vehicle itself during its displacement; simultaneously, the behavior of the vehicle also becomes more complex. Deformable soils, such as loose soils cannot be modelled by solid physics and they require the use of accurate mass decomposition and mass-mass interactions. These are the basis of the model-simulator we used, called CORDIS-ANIMA, in which every kind of physical object is modelled by a set of precise masses in physical interaction. This paper illustrates the physically-based object simulations of various off-road vehicles moving on deformable soils, leaving tyre traces, spinning, skidding and even sinking.