| Abstract: | Wheel slip is one of the key factors for determining wheel performance and resulting damage to soil and vegetation. However, the wheel slip on a typical Scandinavian moraine forest floor has not been studied. A slip model was therefore developed from the well‐known Wismer‐Luth mobility model, and tested against empirical observations. Wheel slip of both an empty and a loaded forwarder on different slopes was measured using videotaping and an image processing technique. The field observations matched theoretical values well on gradual slopes, but on steeper slopes, close to the technical climbing ability, the discrepancies were pronounced. Wheel slip on moraine soils with good bearing capacity on gradual slopes (‐40 to 30%) varied between ‐0.15 and 0.2. |
