Wheel Rolling on a Deformable Support Surface

Features of the interaction of wheels with a deformable surface complicate the operation of wheeled vehicles and make it necessary to solve a number of issues, including determining the depth of the track left by a wheeled vehicle. Previously, the authors considered an analytical method for solving this problem, which consists in the mathematical replacement of a deformable wheel with a pneumatic tire by an equivalent wheel of a larger radius, and also considered a method for determining the equivalent wheel radii using the results of experiments. The need to perform experiments with subsequent processing of experimental data and performing the necessary auxiliary calculations complicates the procedure for determining the equivalent radius. In this paper, an analytical expression for the equivalent radius is derived, taking into account the normal load on the wheel, soil and tire parameters, and the dimensions of the tire contact area with the supporting surface and hysteresis losses in the tire are determined.