Browse Topic: Environment
ABSTRACT Rubber tracks are now extremely competitive for vehicles up to 50 tons and fully fielded on 39 ton vehicles. They represent the best of what technology can offer for tracked vehicles, in terms of high durability, performance and low life cycle cost. This is mainly attributed to the optimization through the five (5) technological tools described in this paper. Better from its numerous distinctive advantages, rubber tracks can be adapted to suit virtually any specific need. This ductile rubber track technology can be shaped to match today’s requirements, with the help of advanced rubber compounding and computer simulations
ABSTRACT One primary system integration challenge for a terrain measurement system is the triggering and time synchronization of all subsystems. Since individual measurement systems vary in their triggering requirements, both in terms of voltage levels and response times, a comprehensive triggering architecture is difficult to implement. Examples of triggering signal inputs include: a transistor-transistor logic (TTL) compliant signal, an RS-232 compliant signal, and an open/close switch circuit. Pulse-triggering signals are also present, and enable continuous time synchronization between instruments. Therefore, a triggering scheme is proposed capable of accurately initiating, synchronizing, and concluding data collection from multiple sensors and subsystems. Simulation of complete circuit designs show that the trigger circuit is capable of properly processing a single physical switch input signal into a TTL-compliant trigger signal. Synchronization pulse signals are likewise amplified
Abstract Military vehicles need prime power and auxiliary power systems with ever-increasing power density and specific power, as well as greater fuel economy, lower noise, lower exhaust emissions and greater stealth. D-STAR technologies, funded by the Army, DARPA, Marine Corps / Navy and others, are enabling a new generation of modified-HCCI (homogenous charge compression ignition) engines that simultaneously offer power density and specific power of racing-quality gasoline engines, operation on JP-8 and other heavy fuels, as well as the other desirable qualities mentioned above. D-STAR Engineering has recently developed a prototype for a 1 kW man-portable heavy-fuel hybrid power system, that has been successfully tested by the ONR / USMC, and has demonstrated the power core for a 2 kW hybrid power system (for Army TARDEC). D-STAR is also developing, based on funding from the Army, a 500 Watt hybrid power system, and has designs for hybrid heavy fuel power systems and APUs for 10 and
ABSTRACT When building simulation models of military vehicles for mobility analysis over deformable terrain, the powertrain details are often ignored. This is of interest for electric and hybrid-electric vehicles where the maximum torque is produced at low speeds. It is easy to end up with the drive wheels spinning and reducing traction and eventually the vehicle digging itself down in the soil. This paper reveals improvements to mobility results using Traction Control Systems for both wheeled and tracked vehicles. Simulations are performed on hard ground and two types of deformable soil, Lethe sand and snow. For each soft soil, simulations have been performed with a simple terramechanics model (ST) based on Bekker-Wong models and complex terramechanics (CT) using the EDEM discrete element soil model which Pratt & Miller Engineering (PME) has been instrumental in developing. To model the traction control system a PD controller is used that tries to limit the slip velocity at low speed
ABSTRACT This paper presents a new terrain traversability mapping method integrated into the Robotic Technology Kernel (RTK) that produces ground slope traversability cost information from LiDAR height maps. These ground slope maps are robust to a variety of off-road scenarios including areas of sparse or dense vegetation. A few simple and computationally efficient heuristics are applied to the ground slope maps to produce cost data that can be directly consumed by existing path planners in RTK, improving the navigation performance in the presence of steep terrain. Citation: J. Ramsey, R. Brothers, J. Hernandez, “Creation of a Ground Slope Mapping Methodology Within the Robotic Technology Kernel for Improved Navigation Performance,” In Proceedings of the Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering and Technology Symposium (GVSETS), NDIA, Novi, MI, Aug. 16-18, 2022
Items per page:
50
1 – 50 of 42100