COMPRESSIBLE FLUID STRUT FOR WHEELED VEHICLES

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A LINEAR STRUT SUSPENSION SYSTEM DESIGN UTILIZING COMPRESSIBLE FLUID IS PROPOSED TO ENHANCE THE UTILITY OF THE USMC LAV-25. DTI WILL APPLY DIRECT EXPERIENCE AND PROPRIETARY KNOWLEDGE GAINED IN OTHER SUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS OF ITS COMPRESSIBLE FLUID SUSPENSIONS TECHNOLOGY TO OTHER MILITARY VEHICLES AND HEAVY DUTY MINING TRUCKS. DTI WILL USE SILICONE AS THE COMPRESSIVE MEDIA TO INTEGRATE SPRING AND DAMPING FUNCTIONS INTO 8 INDIVIDUAL WHEEL UNITS, PROVIDING A LIGHTER, SIMPLIFIED SYSTEM THROUGH ELIMINATION OF TORSION BARS, BULKY SINGLE RATE SPRINGS, SEPARATELY MOUNTED SHOCK ABSORBERS AND OTHER ANCILLARY MOUNTING PIECES. THE DTI SYSTEM WILL FEATURE INDEPENDENT, ADJUSTABLE, SPRING AND DAMPING RATES FOR THE WIDEST RANGE OF VEHICLE WEIGHT CARRYING CAPACITY POSSIBLE WHILE IMPROVING THE RIDE CHARACTERISTICS AND OVERALL MISSION CAPABILITY. THE PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS WILL START WITH COLLECTION OF ALL PRESENTLY KNOWN DATA ON THE LAV-25 INCLUDING STATIC AND DYNAMIC TEST MEASUREMENTS. DTI LAYOUT DRAWINGS AND ENGINEERING LOAD AND DAMPING CURVES WILL SHOW PACKAGING AND PERFORMANCE CAPABILITIES. DTI COMPUTER GENERATED CALCULATIONS AND SIMULATIONS WILL PROVIDE DATA NECESSARY TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY AND DESIRABILITY OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM AND POTENTIAL VARIATIONS. ?????????????????????????