On the issue of determining the amount of skidding when turning a tracked vehicle around the center of gravity

The article is devoted to the study of the rotation of a tracked vehicle relative to the vertical axis passing through the center of gravity. This movement of tracked vehicles became possible with the introduction of differential turning mechanisms in their transmissions or the use of on-Board schemes of continuously variable transmissions. The ability to turn on the spot significantly increased the maneuverability of both high-speed tracked vehicles and low - speed industrial tractors. The theory of motion of tracked vehicles in terms of rotation (around the center of gravity) described in the technical literature is not deep enough, because of design features of traditional mechanisms of rotation, providing minimum turn radius equal to the transverse base of the machine, i.e. the rotation around the stopped track. Skidding of the crawler relative to the support (ground) makes significant adjustments to the kinematics of the turn, and especially the turn around the center of gravity. The results of field tests of tracked vehicles with a differential turn mechanism differ significantly from the theoretical parameters of the turn kinematics in place, but no one has yet been able to quantify this difference and theoretically justify it. The authors established new analytical dependencies that clearly illustrate the multiple growth of track skidding when turning in place compared to straight-line movement. The slip coefficient increases up to 10 times, and it becomes impossible to ignore it when evaluating kinematic calculations of the curved movement of tracked vehicles. The results of the study can be useful to researchers and designers involved in the design of tracked vehicles with progressive transmissions and turning mechanisms.