Use of Vehicle Dynamic Simulations to Define the Best Axles Configuration for a 6×6 Military Vehicle

To help the Science and Technology Department of Brazilian Army in its task to define the specifications for the next generation of 6×6 armored personnel carriers, an extensive use of 3D Vehicle Dynamic Simulations was done. Among the studies carried on, a specific set of Simulations was run to help define the best axles configuration for this vehicle. Basically three configurations were evaluated and compared:

• Twin rear axles and a single steering front axle.
• Three equally spaced axles, steering in the two front ones.
• Twin front steerable axles, and a single rear one.

Besides some specific military simulations, as trench crossing and vertical step capability, special attention was paid to handling and stability performance of each possible configuration. This work covers the steering, stability and handling aspects of such simulations and shows the comparative results of the three possible configurations