Journal of Theoretical
and Applied Mechanics

52, 4, pp. 857-867, Warsaw 2014
DOI: 10.15632/jtam-pl.52.4.857

A new suspension system of an autonomous caterpillar platform

Andrzej Jurkiewicz, Tomasz Nabagło, Janusz Kowal, Marcin Apostoł
The article contains results of a conceptual work and research which develops a semi-active suspension of the 2S1 caterpillar platform. The results are collected on designed and built test stands and used in three alternative models of the platform suspension system. The first one is based on the existing construction of the platform. The other two have been modernized by using new solutions in the tracked vehicles suspension technology associated with a torsional spring element. The authors assumed simulation conditions for straight line driving while the model overcomes an obstacle in one track. The results of simulations are compared and analyzed to improve parameters of the vehicle suspension.
Keywords: caterpillar platform; test stand; logarithmic spring; simulation; ADAMS