A novel penetrometer for simulating the track-soil interaction of underwater tracked vehicles

• Published in: Marine georesources & geotechnology Vol. 42; no. 2; pp. 184 - 192
• Main Authors: Huang, Weijian, Su, Xinbin, Li, Zhijian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Taylor & Francis 01-02-2024; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Compression; Mathematical models; Model testing; Ocean floor; penetration; penetrometer; Penetrometers; Shear stress; Shear tests; Shearing; Simulation; Soil; Soil penetration tests; Soil strength; Soils; track-soil interaction; Tracked vehicles; Traction; Underwater; underwater tracked vehicles; Vehicles
• ISSN: 1064-119X; 1521-0618
• DOI: 10.1080/1064119X.2023.2165990

Underwater track vehicles (UTVs) will penetrate and shear the soil while walking on the seabed. The penetration reflects the soil's strength, and the shearing determines the traction that the soil can provide. The traditional bevameter technique for simulating the above processes comprises two separate tests, a plate penetration test, and a shear test. However, the effect of grousers and the connection between the two processes are ignored by the bevameter technique. Here, a novel penetrometer is proposed to simulate track-soil interaction, combining penetration and shearing into continuous compression and torsion. Numerical simulations and model tests were used to evaluate the feasibility and validity of the novel penetrometer concept. In the numerical simulations, compared with the traditional method, the pressure of the new method was increased by about 20% because of the effect of grousers, and the peak shear stress was increased by about 10% because of the continuous simulations. In the model experiments, the corresponding increases were about 25% for the pressure and 28% for the peak shear stress. The results show that the novel penetrometer can better simulate the continuous processes of UTVs, and its tooth structure reflects the grousers' effect.