Mohamadreza Satvati - Vehicle Dynamical System Research Lab, School of Automotive Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
Abdolah Amirkhani - Vehicle Dynamical System Research Lab, School of Automotive Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
Masoud Masih-Tehrani - Vehicle Dynamical System Research Lab, School of Automotive Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
Vahid Nourbakhsh - Vehicle Dynamical System Research Lab, School of Automotive Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

This paper experimentally investigates the trafficability of a small tracked vehicle on a slope. An increase in the angle of slope inclination may divert the vehicle from its path. In other words, the deviation of the vehicle is due to a sudden increase in the yaw angle. Also, the tip-over occurs at a specific slope angle. The locomotion of the small tracked vehicle on soils with different terramechanics (such as cohesion, internal friction angle, cohesive modulus, and friction modulus) is also simulated to evaluate its slope-traversing performance. Moreover, the impact of velocity and soil type on traversing a slope is measured. The proposed yaw angle control system is modeled for controlling the yaw angle of the tracked vehicle. This controller is designed through co-simulation. It keeps the tracked vehicle at zero yaw angle to achieve straight locomotion on slopes. It is compared to the PI, PID, and fuzzy controllers. The response of this controller is faster than PI and PID controllers. A Comparison between fuzzy and proposed yaw angle controller yields almost similar responses. The mechanism of the proposed yaw angle controller is also easier to understand. The precision of the controller's performance is measured by simulating over different terrains.

Electric tracked vehicle, Trafficability, Yaw angle controller, Slope-traversing, Fuzzy controller