Modeling wheel-induced rutting in soils: Rolling

Theoretical models for predicting penetration of non-driving (towed) rigid cylindrical wheels rolling on frictional/cohesive soils are presented. The models allow for investigating the influence of soil parameters and wheel geometry on the relationship between the inclined rolling force and wheel sinkage in the presence of permanently formed ruts. The rolling process is simulated numerically in three dimensions using the finite element code ABAQUS. The numerical simulations reveal that the advanced three-dimensional process of rutting can be regarded as steady, and an approximate analytic model for predicting sinkage under steady-state conditions, which accounts for three-dimensional effects, is also developed. The differences between wheel rolling and wheel indentation (considered in a separate paper) are discussed. Numerical and analytic results are compared with test results available in the literature and obtained from preliminary small-scale experiments, and general agreement is demonstrated.