| Company: | David Potter Consulting |
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| e-mail: | contact@davidpotterconsulting.com | ||
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| Contact: |
| Address: | Chemin de la Capeliere | |
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| Country: |  FRANCE | |
| Phone: | +33 494339090 | |
| Fax: | +33 494339797 |
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Vehicle Dynamics of Tactical Wheeled Vehicles David Potter Consulting offers a worldwide discrete, confidential, vehicle dynamics troubleshooting service. Clients range from government defence agencies to manufacturers of commercial and specialised vehicles. Projects may take the form of an evaluation, analysis, optimisation and rapid upgrade of an existing vehicle to a complete design service for prototype vehicles through to final product test and validation.
Recent events have highlighted the future requirements for Tactical Wheeled Vehicles; the most demanding role is that of CSVs (Combat Support Vehicles). This new type of high mobility, payload carrying, vehicle is capable of keeping pace with fast-moving tanks across difficult terrain, combined with a high on-road performance.
Key to these conflicting requirements is a well laid out suspension geometry design which allows large wheel movement for off-road mobility and provides roll control for on-road performance.
These factors should be coupled with an advanced spring and damping system incorporating the following features:
Low natural frequency spring rates (with corresponding rebound and increased compression damping) for optimum off-road ride performance. High natural frequency spring rates (with corresponding rebound and reduced compression damping) for accrued on-road handling performance. This utopian scenario can be achieved with ride height adjustable hydro-pneumatic struts (passive or active) and piloted damping; the cost and complexity factors of such a system may be regarded as a deterrent. In this case progressive rate helical springs can be used to achieve a similar effect at a much reduced cost (and shorter lead time).
David Potter Consulting can advise clients of the solution that most closely matches their requirements. Case studies have successfully shown increased off-road speed and mobility with improved ride performance, coupled with accrued on-road handling (lane change) performance.
At the opposite end of the spectrum concerning Tactical Wheeled Vehicles, LSVs (Light Strike Vehicles) closely relate to the “Rallye-Raid” prototypes with which David Potter Consulting has achieved much success. These vehicles combine light weight and high speed (150+kph) off road performance to provide an agile, high mobility platform for strike and reconnaissance units; adjustable height suspension with up to 450mm wheel travel allows maximum obstacle avoidance plus the ability to reduce the vehicle height for internal transport in rotary wing aircraft.
David Potter Consulting can provide a total design package for LSVs from conception to prototype build, test and evaluation.
David Potter Consulting can also advise on differential control systems, in isolation or as an integrated suspension / transmission package, to ensure optimum off-road traction, gradability and obstacle negotiation
David Potter Consulting
From a family background of Military and Civil Engineering, David Potter decided to specialise in high performance wheeled vehicles, predominantly in motor sport, with notable achievements in race and rally suspension, and “active” differential design and development.
Extensive “Rallye-Raid” experience with the development of 4x4, 6x6 and 8x8 high performance off-road vehicles led to David Potter Consulting being established in 1996 to provide manufacturers with an independent vehicle dynamics design and development facility with expertise in suspension and differential control systems.
Powerful design software including CATIA, I-DEAS and AutoCAD, combined with leading simulation packages allow seamless integration with the clients own design team.
Suspension damping remains a forte of David Potter Consulting, with damper testing and re-valving services available at locations in UK and France, complemented by a mobile testing service in Europe. 2003 will see the launch of a parallel service in the USA. |
C1 Ariete AMV (Modernization of the vehicle)
C1 Ariete (Main battle tank)
M1074 JABS Wolverine (Armoured vehicle-launched bridge)
M1150 ABV Shredder (Mine clearing vehicle)
CALIBER FLEX (Robot, Unmanned Vehicle)
AVATAR (Robot, Unmanned Vehicle)
Manul (Infantry fighting vehicle)
K9 VAJRA-T (Self-propelled howitzer)
PPDU (Remote controlled weapon station)
2S43 Malva (Self-propelled howitzer)
? (Robot, Unmanned Vehicle)
ISV (Patrol Vehicle)
T-90MS Tagil (Modernization of the vehicle)
AGEMA (Robot, Unmanned Vehicle)
Centaur (Robot, Unmanned Vehicle)
