|
Abstract. Determining the handling characteristics of tracked vehicles is significantly more
complex than wheeled vehicles. This is because of the non-linear
behaviour of the interaction between the tracks and ground during
turning. In many cases a full dynamics model of the
steering of a tracked vehicle is too complex and time
consuming to generate and gives little or no insight into
the mechanics of skid steer. This is especially true during
the initial design phase, or the examination of a modification,
when the designer needs a method, which allows the trade
offs to be examined quickly. The work presented here is
based on the method used at the Royal Military College
of Science (RMCS) to teach the fundamentals of tracked vehicle
steering and is suitable for low speed predictions only. Comparison
of the method with experimental data shows that the radius
of turn is determined with reasonable accuracy but only an
upper bound is put on the sprocket torque. Modifications of
this technique to include side force generation have been used
successfully elsewhere to determine the behaviour of half-tracks and articulated
track vehicles.
Related topics:
tracked vehicles, mobility
View first page of "Wormell: Handling of Tracked Vehicles at Low Speed"
Papers by Wormell
Papers by Purdy
Register for the free
to receive a list of papers for each issue as it is released.
|
