Snowmobile model for ride dynamic analysis. (1st January 2014) - Hebert, Paul-Andre
Snowmobiling involves exposure to high magnitude vibrations. Ride comfort thus forms a major design requirement, currently met through iterative prototyping and field-testing. This study thus aims at developing a snowmobile ride model. The nine degrees-of-freedom ADAMS model includes sub-models for: detailed suspension, track, trail profile, deformable ground, quasi-steady traction, and simplified rider and seat. Four trail roughnesses were characterised through Power Spectral Density. Field tests provided vehicle response. Simulations' agreement ranged from poor to good. A parametric analysis pointed to ride comfort improvements reaching 58%, based on the rms vertical acceleration at the seat.