Theoretical analysis of soil reaction on a lug of the movable lug cage wheel

The measurement of soil reaction forces on a lug of a movable lug cage wheel was carried out in a soil bin. To elucidate the experimental results, a theoretical analysis of soil reaction forces on the lug of the movable lug cage wheel was made by using an analysis of the lug trajectory and a modified theory in soil-vehicle mechanics. The existing theory was modified and adjusted by considering the actual lug trajectory and the soil trench made by the preceding lug. The results showed that the theoretical analysis gave a good representation of the reaction forces measured experimentally. The higher pull and lift forces of the movable lug cage wheel compared with those of the fixed lug wheel was supported by the theoretical analysis. Although the theoretical representation of soil reaction forces should be improved by further works, it is sufficiently accurate to estimate the performance of the movable lug cage wheels by the proposed theory. (C) 2000 ISTVS. All rights reserved.