Army Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Emulator for Improved Simulation Characterization and Reliability Assessment

The objective of this project is to expand the vehicle dynamic simulation capabilities of the U.S. Army Ground Simulation Laboratory (GVSL) on multiple axle vehicles. The GVSL currently utilizes tire coupled full vehicle simulation equipment. Through the research and development of this initiative, it is the intent of Waltonen Engineering, in conjuction with Oakland University, to contribute to expanding GVSL’s capabilities to increase the scope of their testing to include hub-coupled experiments, further isolating the unsprung mass and minimizing variability in their experiments. By doing so, simulation experiments will yield a higher level of accuracy of road profiles into the response of the simulator. The end result will allow the GVSL to provide their customer with broader simulation capability to include such characteristics as durability, safety, performance, drivetrain and noise and vibration. Recognizing the limitations of the GVSL’s current testing capabilities, this proposal will include design recommendations for an adaptable hub fixture to simulate ground inputs into military type vehicles. The fixture will be compact, adaptable, robust and able to accommodate all six degrees of freedom (DOF) of a tire’s (hub) motion.