Perpustakaan Digital ITB

track is a vehicle propulsion system that consists of a continuous band of chains connected with track shoes or may be entirely made of rubber. The track system is still commonly used on a variety of vehicles, including bulldozers, excavators, tanks, and tractors, and recently also used in lunar expedition vehicles. A tracked vehicle is mainly designed to provide better mobility in rough, uneven, or slippery terrain. The main component of the track system is track shoes or so-called grousers. This track shoe geometry will determine the tractive performance of the vehicle. If an incorrect shape is used, the excavator will most likely slip. The previous study approached this traction problem by using the semi-empirical method. But until now the track geometry and traction relation are still unclear. The focus of this project is the effects of track shoe geometry on tractive performance and vehicle climbing ability. The analysis was mainly conducted with a DEM (Discrete Element Method) simulation. We also confirmed the result in an experimental test using a small-scale RC prototype on simulated terrain, with different slope variations. It is proven that the grouser height directly affects the climbing performance of tracked vehicles. A higher grouser height proves to be better at a higher inclination slope. But for a low inclination angle, the flattened track was better. The traction result from the EDEM simulation also yields a similar result. But with higher usable traction means more friction is generated, therefore the track with the higher traction also takes more energy to cover the same distance.