Terramechanics Modeling of a Wheel with Active Lug for Simulations

Lugged wheels are widely used to increase wheels’ traction on sandy terrain such as planets. It is essential to model the interaction between lugged wheels and sand for predicting robot behavior, proper design, and control. In previous studies, wheels with an actively actuated lug were developed to achieve high-motion performance on sandy terrain. However, the lack of a motion prediction model limited the potential of robot control in these situations. This paper introduces a mathematical model of a wheel with an active lug based on terramechanics. Comparing the simulation and experiment results, the validity of the proposed model is shown.