Kanarat, Amnart2011-08-062011-08-062003-12-05etd-111099-142043http://hdl.handle.net/10919/9755A multi-unit tracked vehicle such as a continuous haulage system is widely used in underground mining applications due to its high mobility and payload capacity on rugged and soft terrain. To automate such a system, a high fidelity model of a tracked vehicle is essential in designing a controller for each tracked vehicle in the system, and a system model is required to simulate its response to input commands. This thesis presents the 2-D mathematical models of a tracked vehicle and a multi-unit tracked vehicle. All existing track-terrain interaction models are investigated and modified. By employing the modified track-terrain interaction model and applying Newton's second law of motion, the equations of motion of both single and multi-unit tracked vehicles can be derived. Computer programs for simulating the motions of these tracked vehicles on level ground have been implemented on a digital computer based on the derived system of differential equations. The fourth-order Runge-Kutta and Keun's methods are adopted to numerically integrate these differential equations. The simulation results clearly show that the programs can accurately predict the motion of a tracked vehicle maneuvered on horizontal plane, and closely predict the response of a multi-unit tracked vehicle operated on level ground its command inputs.ETDIn Copyrightsystem modelingkinematic modeltracked vehiclemulti-unit tracked vehicledynamic modelcomputer simulationThesishttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-111099-142043