A Novel Hydraulic Interconnection Design and Sliding Mode Synchronization Control of Leveling System for Crawler Work Machine

Ruochen Wang, Kaiqiang Zhang, Renkai Ding (), Yu Jiang and Yiyong Jiang
Additional contact information
Ruochen Wang: School of Automotive and Traffic Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Kaiqiang Zhang: School of Automotive and Traffic Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Renkai Ding: Automotive Engineering Research Institute, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Yu Jiang: School of Automotive and Traffic Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Yiyong Jiang: School of Automotive and Traffic Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-19

Abstract: To address the issues of easy overturning and poor safety of crawler work machines operating on steep slopes in hilly and mountainous areas, this study develops a structural design scheme based on a “three-layer frame” structure. An omnidirectional leveling system with hydraulic interconnection is designed to maintain platform stability by ensuring a stationary central point during leveling. Furthermore, a sliding mode synchronization control method based on a disturbance observer is proposed to reduce the synchronization error of the hydraulic cylinders and enhance leveling precision. The system’s performance is validated through an AMESim-MATLAB/Simulink co-simulation platform, demonstrating significant improvements over traditional PID control. Specifically, both lateral and longitudinal leveling times are reduced, rise time decreases by 21.8% on average, and overall leveling time is reduced by 35.5%, with synchronization errors maintained within ±6 × 10 −4 m. Finally, physical prototype testing further confirms the system’s effectiveness, achieving an average body inclination error of 2.55% and a hydraulic cylinder synchronization error of 8.2%. These findings validate the feasibility and superiority of the proposed omnidirectional leveling system for the crawler work machine in hilly and mountainous regions.

Keywords: crawler work machine; omnidirectional leveling; hydraulic interconnection; sliding mode synchronization control (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/2/137/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/2/137/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:2:p:137-:d:1563601

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().