Multibody system modelling and simulation of planetary rover mobility on soft terrain

For planetary rovers often very unconventional suspen-sion and tyre designs are investigated. With the possibil-ity of Multibody System (MBS) simulation one has the unique opportunity to investigate a wide range of poten-tial configurations and terrains and, moreover, the impor-tance of the dynamical effects can be efficiently taken into account. The main goal is to reduce the amount of costly prototypes and give assistance in field experiments. A great advantage is the integration of the Multibody Sys-tem simulation and the very complex tyre-soil interaction into the vehicle’s conceptual design process. This ranges from kinematic investigations for gradeability, maximum step crossing and side slope driving up to investigations of tyre-soil interaction with respect to tyre sinkage and rolling resistance. In this paper the focus lies on the simu-lation of longitudinal slip of tyres on soft soil which is im-portant to bear in mind when considering driven wheels and, furthermore, slip sinkage behaviour