VEHICLE PERFORMANCE IN DEEP SNOW UNDER LATE WINTER CONDITIONS - INFLUENCE OF BELLY CONFIGURATION

摘要

This paper presents an experimental study of drawbar performance in deep snow under late winter conditions. The objective is to increase the knowledge about the influence of the belly configuration on the tractive performance of a skid-steered tracked vehicle in deep snow during the late winter. The tests were carried out by using a skid-steered tracked vehicle developed for the purpose by Bodin [I]. The design parameters studied are the influence of the angle of the vehicle belly and the influence of the ground clearance of the vehicle belly on the tractive performance of the vehicle. The most important results are that the drawbar pull increases with a decreasing belly angle. i.e. a decreasing belly clearance at the front and an increasing clearance at the rear. The increased drawbar pull originates from an increased thrust between the tracks and the snow, and it is also due to a reduced belly resistance. Tests of the belly ground clearance show that an increased belly clearance strongly increases the drawbar pull of the vehicle. This is due to a load transfer from the belly to the tracks, which leads both to increased thrust between the tracks and the snow and to a reduced belly resistance. The major conclusion is that a high ground clearance, especially at the rear of the belly greatly improves the performance of a tracked vehicle in deep snow.