A Study on Dynamic Characteristics of Differential Steering in Distributed-drive Wheeled Vehicles

Aiming at the problem that the current theory on the differential steering in wheeled vehicles does not take into consideration of tire twist characteristics and the dynamic characteristics of steady-state differential steering, a study on the dynamic characteristics of differential steering in wheeled vehicles is conducted based on the twist and cornering characteristics of tire. The models for both single-and dual-axle distributed drive wheeled vehicles are set up to analyze the mechanism of the interaction between tire and road and the forming process of steady-state differential steering, and the effects of aligning torque, cornering force, which are caused by the twist and transverse deformation of tire, lateral force and the structural dimension of vehicle on steady-state differential steering are discussed. The results show that the hysteresis of tire twist and the aligning torque it produces have great effects on the steady-state differential steering of vehicle. The process of differential steering of dual-axle wheeled vehicles is a coupling action of cornering and side-slip and the essential condition for differential steering is that wheel track must be larger than wheel base.