Resilient Band Vehicle Suspension Systems

The design of two new resilient band suspension systems are compared to show that one system is potentially superior over the other. The first design is loopwheel, developed for use on off-road military vehicles. The second design is track wheel, partially developed for use on wheelchairs.

Full scale loopwheel models have demonstrated that a resilient band suspension provides much improved soft soil traction over a wheeled vehicle. Major deficiencies of this design are a high rolling resistance and a tendency to throw the band at the sprockets. These problems are not expected in a track wheel with a spring track. Moreover, a close comparison shows that track wheel has four major advantages over loopwheel; simple design (lower cost), carries more load, greater stability and lower rolling resistance.