SAE 2010 Sand Traction Paper
From Clemson Engineering Design Applications and Research
[edit] Citation
Kolla, A., Ma, J., Summers, J., Biggers, S., Joseph, J., Blouin, V., (2010), “Development and Qualitative Testing of Traction Concepts as an Undergraduate Experience”, SAE World Congress and Exhibition, B600-Engineering Education, Detroit, MI, April 2010, No. 2010-01-0312.
[edit] Abstract
Recent research at Clemson University is focused on the development of an advanced non-pneumatic, non-elastomeric lunar wheel for NASA. One of the desired objectives for this wheel is to have good traction. This paper reports on several concepts for tread materials and geometries that have been explored for tire on sand by a group of undergraduate students. Specifically, fourteen concepts have been physically tested in a on-vehicle environment. These different concepts include the use of metal meshes, textile carpet materials, soft grousers, foams, and screens. Prototypes for each concept and formal test procedures to quantify traction were developed. This paper presents the results of the tests for several different concepts developed and the comparison between the concepts developed. Students have developed their own testing environment through which these test procedures are implemented. The test environment is an inclined hill 45 ft. in length and 8 ft. wide will approximately 6 inches deep filled with sand. Results were analyzed between several groups using a statistical tool, ANOVA, to find the variance between groups. Analysis of the results shows that a softer and uniform contact patch will have better tractive capabilities.
corresponding author [Joshua D. Summers]
