Chapter 9 - Applications of the Computer-Aided Method NTVPM to Parametric Analysis of Vehicles with Flexible Tracks

Abstract

This chapter presents the applications of the computer-aided method NTVPM to parametric analysis of vehicles with flexible tracks. The parametric analysis of the design and performance of the baseline vehicle is carried out over a snow-covered terrain and a clayey soil. The snow-covered terrain, referred to as Hope Valley snow, represents a snow cover with average depth of 128 cm found in a mountainous region in the United States. When the terrain is highly compressible, such as the Hope Valley snow, the track sinkage may be greater than the vehicle ground clearance, and the vehicle belly (hull) may be in contact with the terrain surface. In this case, the belly–terrain shearing parameters are required as input to NTVPM. Vehicle performance parameters predicted by NTVPM include the normal and shear stress distributions under the track, the mean maximum pressure (MMP) based on the predicted normal pressure distribution on the track–terrain interface, the sinkage and track motion resistance distributions along the track contact length, belly load and belly drag, track motion resistance, thrust, drawbar pull, and tractive efficiency as functions of track slip. These performance parameters provide detailed information for design and performance evaluation of vehicles with flexible tracks under various operating environments.