Convex Contour Track Links for Wear Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tracked chassis components, such as plain rollers and track links, experience high wear due to uneven force transmission and load peaks, particularly on bumpy surfaces, leading to material damage and reduced service life.
Innovation Solution
The running surfaces of the plain rollers and track links are modified with convex contours to increase spacing and reduce contact pressure, preventing load peaks and optimizing force transmission, with specific ratios and configurations for linear and convex portions to ensure uniform contact and reduced wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the running surfaces of plain rollers and track links have flat contact surfaces, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but high contact pressure and load peaks occur leading to increased wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by modifying the running surfaces of both the track links and plain rollers from flat to convex contours. The convex contour on the track link's running surface and the corresponding convex contour on the roller's running surface create a distributed contact area instead of a concentrated flat contact, reducing contact pressure and preventing load peaks that cause wear and material damage.
2Reliability
If hardened surfaces are applied to track and rollers to resist wear, then wear resistance improves, but strain peaks and crack formation occur under high load conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The convex curved surfaces distribute contact loads more uniformly across the contact area, preventing the concentration of stresses that lead to strain peaks. This geometric modification reduces the risk of crack initiation and propagation in hardened surfaces, thereby maintaining both wear resistance and structural integrity under high load conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the contact surfaces by introducing convex contours with specific radii of curvature. This parameter change modifies the stress distribution pattern from concentrated to distributed, reducing peak stresses while maintaining contact effectiveness, thus preventing crack formation in hardened materials.
3Ease of operation
If lateral clearance is provided between plain rollers and track links for movement, then operational flexibility is improved, but relative displacements cause non-uniform force transmission and increased wear
Solution Approach 1:
The convex contours on both the track links and rollers work together to guide and constrain relative movements. The curved surfaces ensure that even when lateral clearance allows movement, the contact remains distributed along the convex surfaces, maintaining uniform force transmission and preventing the non-uniform loading that causes accelerated wear.
Data Source
AI summary
A tracked chassis for a working machine has a track which includes at least one roller path, preferably two roller paths extending in parallel, on whose running surface at least one plain roller of the tracked chassis is movable during crawler operation. The running surface of at least one roller path of the track and the running surface of at least one roller have a transverse section with an at least sectionally convex contour.