Influence of Hydraulic Drivetrain Configuration on Kinematic Discrepancy and Energy Consumption during Obstacle Overcoming in a 6 × 6 All-Wheel Hydraulic Drive Vehicle

Abstract

One of the problems limiting the off-road mobility of multi-axle-wheeled vehicles is a kinematic discrepancy, which increases the resistance to motion when negotiating obstacles. This paper presents the results of research on the possibility of reducing the kinematic discrepancy in vehicles with a hydrostatic drive for each wheel by the appropriate selection of hydraulic components—hydraulic motors and flow dividers. Four different configurations of the drivetrain were tested. They used slow-running hydraulic orbital motors and multi-piston radial motors, as well as gear and spool flow dividers. The tests were conducted with computer simulations based on tests that had already been performed to identify hydraulic parts. They allowed for the assessment of the influence of the characteristics of the components and the configuration of the drive system on the differentiation of the rotational speeds of individual wheels, slippage between the wheels and the ground, and the developed driving torques while overcoming obstacles. These values directly translate into the kinematic discrepancy of the system, the ability to overcome terrain obstacles, and energy consumption.