To evaluate the interaction characteristics between the soil and the Active Lugged Wheel (ALW) developed in our lab

an ALW-soil interaction testbed has been developed. The drawbar pull and the vertical force generated by the ALW mechanism in various trajectories are measured and compared with forces generated by a smooth wheel and a single lug

respectively

to identify the interference between the wheel rim and lugs. In addition

based on the experimental results

the effects of lug inclination angle and lug sinkage length on soil reaction forces are analyzed

and the relationship between the lug sinkage length and the soil reaction forces is established by the least square method. It has been confirmed that the ALW generates a larger soil reaction forces than the sums of the respective forces generated by the smooth wheel and the single lug as the wheel rotates within a certain range

thus the ALW can exploit the deformation property of the sandy soil to gain larger soil reaction forces due to the interference between the wheel rim and the lugs. Moreover

it has been found that the lug inclination angle has no regular influence on the soil reaction force

while both drawbar pull and vertical force are quadratic functions of lug sinkage. Thus

it is possible to improve the traveling performance of the ALW mechanism by adjusting the lug sinkage length.