Abstract
An analytical framework for predicting the ground pressure distribution and tractive performance of tracked vehicles is presented. It takes into account all major design parameters of the vehicle as well as the pressure—sinkage and shearing characteristics and the response to repetitive loading of the terrain. The subsequent substantiation of the analytical method by means of full-scale tests made with an instrumented vehicle is described. A comparison between the theoretical prediction and test results is made and it is found that there is a fairly close agreement between them. This paper includes three sections: (i) an analytical method for predicting the normal pressure distribution; (ii) an analytical method for predicting the shear stress distribution and tractive performance; (iii) experimental substantiation of the analytical framework by means of full-scale tests. The analytical framework presented is suitable for evaluating the effects of vehicle design parameters and terrain conditions on the performance of tracked vehicles with relatively short track pitch designed for high speed operation and for comparing the tractive performance of different tracked vehicle designs.
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