Journal profile · Engineering, Environmental
Journal of Terramechanics
ISSN 0022-4898 · eISSN 1879-1204 · Elsevier Ltd · ENGLAND · Bimonthly
Journal of Terramechanics: CAS Zone 3 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.92; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,190; review about 141 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); community-reported acceptance: easy (Elsevier website: 33%); 45 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Terramechanics is published by Elsevier Ltd and is in Zone 3 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Soil Mechanics and Vehicle Dynamics, Agricultural Engineering and Mechanization and Mechanical Engineering and Vibrations Research, together about 43.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Civil and Structural Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Terramechanics publishes articles on the interaction between vehicles/machinery and deformable surfaces, such as terrestrial terrain, seabed, and extraterrestrial soils; and on the terramechanics-vehicle-environment impact topics and applications, including modeling and simulation with verification and validation; design and control; and operation and testing with statistical confidence of crewed and uncrewed off-road vehicles of various levels of autonomy, robots, extraterrestrial rovers, and terrain engaging-earth moving machinery, the latter of which implements working with agricultural soil/crop systems, construction equipment, forestry machinery, and tools for extraterrestrial surface exploration.As the publishing organ of the International Society for Terrain-Vehicle Systems (ISTVS), the journal provides a forum for disseminating the latest scientific and technical information in the field by both members and non-members of ISTVS. The journal presents a cross-section of technical papers, reviews, comments, and discussions, and serves as a medium for recording recent progress in the field.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Engineering, Environmental
Editor-in-chief David J. GorsichPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 13, Canada 5, Germany 4, Japan 2, South Africa 2 (27 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Soil Mechanics and Vehicle DynamicsEngineering30%
- Agricultural Engineering and MechanizationEngineering7.1%
- Mechanical Engineering and Vibrations ResearchEngineering6.1%
- Vehicle Dynamics and Control SystemsEngineering6%
- Geotechnical Engineering and Soil StabilizationEngineering4.7%
- Soil Management and Crop YieldAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.9%
- Forest Biomass Utilization and ManagementEngineering3.8%
- Agriculture and Farm SafetyAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Engineering, Environmental | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Engineering, Environmental | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Engineering Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Engineering, Environmental | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.92LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 7.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.94LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.07LetPub ·
- h-index
- 44LetPub ·
- h-index
- 83OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,022OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.11OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 16.06%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 40LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,802 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 36 | 10 | 12 |
| 2025 | 45 | 14 | 83 |
| 2024 | 58 | 17 | 337 |
| 2023 | 48 | 11 | 710 |
| 2022 | 33 | 6 | 551 |
| 2021 | 50 | 9 | 809 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
141 dayssubmission to acceptance · community reports over 12 weeks
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 33%LetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 22%Publisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 141 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 13 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,190 / EUR 2,980 / GBP 2,550 / JPY 395,660 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,190 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- ≤ 10
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
Article types accepted4
- book reviewFull-length articles (preferably no more than 20 double line spaced manuscript pages including tables and illustrations), reviews of specialized topics, technic…Length not stated
- letters to the editorFull-length articles (preferably no more than 20 double line spaced manuscript pages including tables and illustrations), reviews of specialized topics, technic…Length not stated
- reviewFull-length articles (preferably no more than 20 double line spaced manuscript pages including tables and illustrations), reviews of specialized topics, technic…Length not stated
- technical noteFull-length articles (preferably no more than 20 double line spaced manuscript pages including tables and illustrations), reviews of specialized topics, technic…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Author contributions
For transparency, we require corresponding authors to provide co-author contributions to the manuscript using the relevant CRediT roles. The CRediT taxonomy includes 14 different roles describing each contributor's specific contribution to the scholarly output. The roles are: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration;…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interest
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Authors should complete the declaration of compe…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (see more information on this). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles includ…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Please visit our Open Access page for more information about open access publishing in this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
This journal operates a single anonymized review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor'…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint references
Where a preprint has subsequently become available as a peer-reviewed publication, the formal publication should be used as the reference. If there are preprints that are central to your work or that cover crucial developments in the topic, but are not yet formally published, these may be referenced. Preprints should be clearly marked as such, for example by including the word preprint, or the nam…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- ISSN
- 0022-4898
- Electronic ISSN
- 1879-1204
- Society / sponsor
- International Society for Terrain-Vehicle Systems
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Terramechanics
What CAS zone is Journal of Terramechanics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Terramechanics is in Zone 3 of Engineering, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Engineering, Environmental. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Terramechanics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.92; CiteScore 7.3, h-index 83.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Terramechanics?
The publisher reports about 141 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy (Elsevier website: 33%)”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 22%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Journal of Terramechanics?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: ≤ 10; Suggested reviewers: Required; Graphical abstract: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Terramechanics based?
Of the 27 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (13), Canada (5) and Germany (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Terramechanics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Terramechanics is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Journal of Terramechanics open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Terramechanics is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,190.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .