Tracked machine
Tracked machine – is a general tracked vehicle having rear or front sprockets, with the parametrically located center of gravity and wheel positions, and several wheels. The vehicle hull is modeled as a rigid body having 3 degrees of freedom, translation in the longitudinal and lateral directions, and yaw rotation [Özdemir, M. N., p. 1].
A popular method known as the Super-Element model treats the track chain as a single flexible band and the rest of the running gear as discrete rigid bodies (road wheels, support rollers, drive sprockets, idlers, and chassis components) with kinematic constraints. This reduces the size of the problem because the track chain is reduced from several rigid bodies with frictional contacts to a single force super-element applied to each road wheel [Madsen, J., Heyn, T., & Negrut, D., p. 1].
Madsen, J., Heyn, T., & Negrut, D. (2010). Methods for Tracked Vehicle System Modeling and Simulation. Madison: UW.
Özdemir, M. N. (2016). Steering dynamics of tracked vehicles. Ankara: METU.