A 3 - Dimensional Dynamics Model for Generating Tracked Vehicle Seismic

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is developing a capability to simulate seismic signatures of moving armored vehicles. To generate vehicle specific signatures, these high-fidelity simulations require vehicle-generated forces acting on the earth’s surface at the vehicle. We present a description of customized enhancements to commercially available dynamic analysis software known as DADS (Dynamic Analysis Design System, LMS-CAE, Coralville, Iowa). The customizations simplify creation of a 3-D dynamics model of a tracked vehicle, particularly its suspension. A GUI interface facilitates creation and layout of suspension elements, the creation of the basic track block, and the proper positioning of track block links at the initial configuration of the vehicle. Our first application of this modeling capability is to an M1 tank. Our output data are time histories of the track/ground forces at all points of contact between the track and the deformable soil. We present sample output from a simulation of variable speed straight-ahead driving. Simulations conducted to-date include constant and variable speed driving and cornering on high and low-friction surfaces.