Caterpillar drive elements interaction when the first roller wheel hits an unevenness process dynamic

The article focuses on the dynamics of high-speed tracked vehicle caterpillar drive elements and their interaction when moving over unevenness. Such movements are accompanied by the previously insufficiently studied effect of the caterpillar drive free branch capturing by the drive wheel gear rim in its front location, which leads to the destruction of the structural elements of the power unit. The paper presents the results of dynamic wave processes in a caterpillar drive obtained using mathematical modeling. The model, in which the dynamic system is presented as an elastic rod on an inertialess elastic foundation, takes into account the inertial dynamic loads in the caterpillar drive formed by the soil microprofile. It also allows us to analyze with satisfactory accuracy the dynamic excitation process of transverse vibrations in a free branch. The computational and experimental results of studying the dynamic process of free-branch transverse wave oscillations (when the first roller wheel hits an unevenness) demonstrate that due to the significant inertial force influence, the caterpillar oscillations amplitude increases significantly, which increases the likelihood of its capture by the drive wheel gear rim. The free branch transverse oscillations amplitude does not significantly depend on the design parameters. The determining factor is the pretensioning force. When the first track roller hits an unevenness, it is not a controllable value and, in the limiting case, can be reduced to zero. To reduce the likelihood of the drive wheel being caught by the gear rim, it is necessary to introduce an additional track tensioning mechanism and an appropriate control system into the design of the caterpillar mover with the front location of the drive wheels.