Design characteristics of an armored tractor for hot climate

Abstract

The article discusses issues related to the field of tractor construction, specifically to tracked and wheeled tractors equipped with various attachments that perform earthmoving, loading, transport and other works in industrial and road construction in special conditions that require additional cooling of the power compartment and protection of the operator and the main components of the machinery from the bullets and shrapnel. Not every serial tractor and machinery based on it (including the engineering ones) is suitable for operation in the special conditions of countries with hot climates, especially in conditions of war or its consequences (undetected and not neutralized mines, unexploded bombs, etc.). The aim of the work is to link the known measures of strengthening the standard cooling system of the engine compartment of an armored tractor with its armor protection, excluding, at least, the negative consequences of such “heat engineering recipes” for the operational safety of the tractor driver mainly, and thereby improve the technical and operational characteristics of armored tractor. The proposed options make it possible to improve the technical and operational characteristics of the armored tractor through the use of such arrangement of the considered components of the tractor (the cabin with operator's workplace, the power compartment, limited by the hood, and the heat exchange hatch), that allow to meet the maximum requirements, which are a visibility from the cabin and protection of the cabine from weapons that fall into the cover. The results obtained seem to be a sufficient basis for an optimistic forecast of the implementation of this development in the existing technological structure of the domestic economy.