Development of a track tension monitoring system in tracked vehicles on flat ground

The mobility of tracked vehicles is mainly influenced by the characteristic s of the track assembly and by the interaction between tracks and soil. In particular. the track tension is closely related to the manoeuvrability of tracked vehicles and the durability of chassis components. In order to mini mize the excessive load on the tracks and to prevent the peel-off of tracks from the sprocket, it is necessary to maintain the optimum track tension t hroughout the manoeuvre. However, the track tension cannot be easily measur ed owing to limitations in sensor technology, harsh environment, etc. In th is paper an indirect track tension monitoring system is developed for track ed vehicles on flat ground based on idler assembly models. a geometric rela tion around the idler and the estimated tractive force using the extended K alman filter technique. The performance of the tension monitoring system is verified with the results obtained from the multibody dynamics tool and an experimental set-up.