Physics of Caterpillar Tracks :: physics tank tracks

E very succession you analyze one of the CATs clearing the hill at university of the snow, you probably dont see anything amazing about it. However, caterpillar tracks used on it are entirely ingenious and its invention is comparable to the invention of the wheel.HistoryFirst vehicles cater by the steam engine started to appear in the early 1800s. miscellaneous machines started slowly replace horses. It was especially true for the jobs that required a grapple of power. Transportation, of course, was the first and the most beneficial adopter. Goods could be carried across large distances with relation ease. No wonder that farmers were also eager to adopt engines. By that clipping most of the work was done using horses and basic tools.ProblemsSteam provide harvesters and tractors were introduced by the end of 19th century. It started to gradually replace horses. However in some regions they created new problems as well. Vehicles proved to be too massive for soft soils and oft en stuck and even sunk. Experiments with various sizes of wheels didnt produce cracking results. change magnitude size of wheels just made vehicles heavier and more difficult to operate.Benjamin Holt of Holt Manufacturing reckon that using an old trick of pouting planks before the wheel would improve cross-country ability. By doing so, it provides solid plane for better traction and lower shove on the ground since size of the plank is larger then of the wheel. bedrockThe main advantage of the track over the wheels is that it plunder distribute a very large force over a large area. That performer that instead of applying all the force on little area where wheels atom the ground, it applies it over the whole area of the track.In physics terms it can be expressed as P = F / Awhere P is pressure, F is force and A is area.Less force applied to all(prenominal) square meter means that its harder for the heavy vehicle to sink into the ground. some other benefit of the tracks is th at large area of contact allows to have a very good traction with the ground. That is why tracks are used for mission detailed jobs, including military use and high cost operations, such as excavations and quadrangle rocket movements.DrawbacksEven though caterpillar tracks provide very good cross-country ability, they have its drawbacks. Because of the weight and the construction of tracks speed of the vehicle is restrict in comparison to the wheeled machines.