Lateral slide sinkage tests for a tire and a track shoe

Previous field studies have shown the influence of turning vehicles on rut formation or sinkage. In order to further investigate the relationships, laboratory tests were conduced on a 14.5–20.3 6-PR trailer tire and an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) track shoe in sand. Lateral displacements, and resulting lateral forces, were applied to the tire and track shoe under constant normal forces. The tire was pulled laterally and the track shoe was pulled back and forth to represent actual movement during vehicle turning. Results show that the lateral force and lateral displacement generated by turning maneuver affect sinkage severely for wheeled and tracked vehicles. The final sinkage caused by the lateral force for the tire is 3–5 times to the static sinkage. For the track shoe, the final sinkage caused by the lateral displacement is about three times to the static sinkage.