Effect of vertical load on track traction under different soil moisture content

Comprehensive analysis of the tractive performance is central to the design of tracked agriculture vehicles, particularly in challenging terrain conditions. To assess the effect of altering the track traction, the stress state of the track plate and grousers were analyzed based on the terramechanics. A simulation model based on the discrete element method (DEM) was proposed to explore the displacement of soil particles and stress distribution within the soil. Subsequently, a test bench was developed to investigate the effect of vertical load, soil moisture content, and grouser height on the maximum track traction. The results demonstrated that DEM simulation could reproduce the experimental results sufficiently well with a relative error of 3.5 % for maximum traction. The highest vertical stress is located beneath the grousers and the horizontal stresses are found to be higher near the bottom of the grousers. The vertical load exerts the most significant influence on track traction. Moisture content mainly affects the rate of increase in track traction at different vertical loads. At the moisture contents of 10 % and 15 %, and under vertical loads of 1000 N and 1500 N, the grouser height had little impact on maximum traction. However, at a soil moisture content of 25 % and under vertical loads of 2500 N and 3000 N, increasing the grouser height resulted in a notable enhancement of track traction.