Harsh Environment CV Joint for Amphibious Vehicles

The wheel-end on the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) experiences low life and significant maintenance issues due to damage received to the protective boot from the harsh operating environment.  Boot damage allows seawater and abrasive particles into the joint which causes damage and failure of the joint. The proposed solution utilizes technologies for constant velocity joints deployed in oil industry drilling equipment to minimize ACV wheel-end failures and extend CV joint life in the event of a boot failure.   CV joints in downhole drilling tools are exposed to extreme environments with significantly higher ambient temperature, and with vibration and shock levels an order of magnitude above that seen by the ACV.  Downhole oilfield equipment operates in a continually submerged state with harsh chemicals and salinity levels ten times that of saltwater.  Oilfield CV joint designs use advanced sealing structures to maintain isolation or are designed to eliminate the seal using the wellbore fluids as lubrication while the CV joint is exposed to impact and debris. Utilizing well known oilfield designs and technologies will improve the boot design and the CV joint configuration making the ACV wheel-end more resistant to impact, abrasion, and joint degradation in the event of seal failure.