Evaluation of Ultimate Mobility of Wheeled Vehicles in Low Traction Conditions

One of the oldest questions in vehicle design is whether tracks or tires provide the ultimate in off-road mobility. This question is of particular interest to the Marine Corps since they have to operate in some of the worst areas found on the planet. The desired result of this study will be to determine the feasibility of developing a wheeled vehicle that can operate in the extreme conditions currently reserved for tracked vehicles. The literature search and theoretical analysis will identify the exact properties of the worst case conditions and the traction mechanisms that are successful in each case. Candidate tire designs will be tested in both a controlled environment and in situ to determine actual tractive effort values obtainable with tires. The test results will provide input into a vehicle design that is optimized to make the best use of available traction in all situations. Vehicle weight must be evenly distributed to the tires at all times, and the drive torque distributed in accordance with traction available. This will involve the use of traction control, central tire inflation, long travel suspension, adjustable ride heights and the capability of extremely high ground clearance for operation in deep mud.