Experimental Investigation of Effect of Wheel Travel on Tracked Vehicle Mobility

This program attempted to consolidate data from several sources in an effort to isolate the contribution of wheel travel to overall vehicle mobility. Some definitive data are presented and described. The data indicate that wheel travel of 6-8 in will be capable of addressing 25% of the obstacles encountered, 14 in will address 55%, and 17 in will address 65%. It appears that 30-35 in of wheel travel, which would provide capability for addressing some 75% of encountered obstacles, is a maximum attainable level. This is subject to cost-effectiveness and vehicle configuration constraints. The overriding conclusion is that wheel travel is an intertwined, indivisible vehicle characteristic that must be accompanied by other properly matched vehicle attributes, such as wheel base, spring rate, and damping rate, to attain its full potential. Test data from the M113, PI M113, and MICV were used in support of this evaluation and analysis.