A Review of the Improvements to Armoured-Vehicle Tracks for the Australian Army.
Abstract
This paper describes some of the material improvements which have been made to the tracks of the Leopard Mk I Main Battle Tank and the M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier. These improvements were part of a program aiming for local production of replacement Leopard track in line with the existing Australian production of replacement M113 track. It gives a technical description of the operation of these live tracks, describes problems in steels and rubbers which have been exacerbated by harsh operating conditions in Australia, and describes in-service failures and the need for very strict maintenance procedures. Particular attention is given to the widespread problem of fatigue fractures of Leopard track pins, overcoming the problems with improvements that culminated in local production of pins with markedly better fatigue resistance. The role of the Leopard/M113 Track and Suspension monitoring of their in-service performance is also described.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA186129
Entities
People
- T. W. Rea
Organizations
- Defence Science and Technology Group