In an effort to support general 3-D vehicle mobility on non-flat terrain, CHRONO::Terrain is a deformable terrain database system that allows for the terrain surface to be described on both macro- and micro-scale resolutions. Inspired by previous work that used a combination of global low-resolution surface elements with localized high-frequency B-Splines to add “bumpiness”, it is possible to capture slopes, hills and walls, as well as give the driver the appearance of bumpy, non-flat off-road terrain. A soil-compression model tracks the 3-D stress/strain due to vehicle loads, and the terrain surface deforms according to a visco-elastic-plastic approach that considers effects of generalized 3-D tire and terrain geometries.
Contributors: Justin Madsen, Andrew Seidl, Dan Negrut, Paul Ayers, George Bozdech, Jeff Freeman and Ford Cook-MechSim Inc.