Design and test methods of rubber-track conversion system

Rubber-track conversion system enables the vehicle to have stronger rough terrain trafficability than tire. Its roller wheels swing with terrain contours to comfort ride and steady traction. However, this will increase the detracking risk and aggravate the rubber track repeated stretch. To minimize variations of the track perimeter, a systematic design method for rubber-track conversion system was proposed to harmonize the component parameters related to relative movements. Furthermore, its tensioning system was optimized. Using a multi-camera video measurement system, the track perimeter is calibrated on a flat steel plate and track perimeter variations are measured on various terrains. Results show that the track perimeter remains unchanged when roller wheels swing on rugged terrains, and the proposed design method is free from terrain parameters and obstacle types. After reliability running test over 1000 km on various terrains, the measurements above were carried out again. The results are consistent with those before the reliability test, which further proves the effectiveness of the proposed design method.

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