High Temperature Bushings for Tracked Vehicles

Bushing degradation in tracked vehicles has attracted attention in the recent conflicts in hot, arid environments around the globe. Due to the increased ambient temperatures and the need for speed and agility, bushings are experiencing higher forces and higher temperatures. Due to this combined effect, bushings are deteriorating quickly, and require service too often. A solution combining advanced materials and engineering knowledge has GSE and its partners believing that we have a solution to offer. With comprehensive understanding of track systems and military vehicles, GSE will use FE analysis to optimize the bushing design taking into account actual track loads and temperature, material properties, coating techniques, and assembly methods to offer a solution that will significantly prolong the life of the track systems. Specifically, the track tension and rotation will be decoupled. In conjunction with the numerical analysis, optimized bushing designs will be fabricated and tested in a T158LL track bushing simulation machine at KRC. Numerical results can be matched with instrumented experimental data to gain confidence in FE predictions. The bushing designs then can be further optimized to offer a turn key track bushing solution.