Objective To address the challenges of insufficient operational safety, poor stability, and limited passability of the forest tending and clearing machine in snowy forest environments, this study investigates the chassis passability performance under snow-covered conditions.

Method The theoretical analysis of the chassis passability of the designed forest tending and clearing machine was conducted under different working conditions covering various aspects including straight movement, steering, slope climbing and obstacle crossing. The key parameters affecting passability were evaluated in depth. RecurDyn was used to construct a simulation model and perform multi-body dynamics simulation analysis. The dynamic parameters such as Euler angle and angular velocity under different working conditions were obtained through simulation, and corresponding curves were plotted.

Result The simulation results showed that the simulation model had relatively stable straight-line and turning performance. It could traverse 600 mm trenches, climb over 350 mm obstacles, ascend slopes of up to 35° longitudinally, and climb 25° laterally. Field tests confirmed that the prototype could cross 600 mm trenches and climb over 300 mm obstacle, and achieved the maximum longitudinal and lateral climbing angles of 30° and 25° respectively. The average straight-line deviation rate was 12.9%, and the turning radius averaged 1561 mm. For all tested conditions, the trends of curves from simulation and actual tests were consistent, verifying the accuracy of simulation analysis. The test error was mainly affected by slippage between the track and snow.

Conclusion This study demonstrates that the forest tending and clearing machine chassis meets the passability requirements for snowy forest environments. The findings provide both theoretical foundation and practical guidance for the design of forest tending and clearing equipment chassis operating in snow-covered conditions.