Use of Lightweight Materials in 21st Century Army Trucks (2003) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
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These requirements mandate that Army trucks consume less fuel, undergo significant weight reduction, have a reduced logistics footprint, and need less maintenance while maintaining or increasing payload capacity and other performance criteria. The use of lightweights materials has the potential to help the Army meet its goals by reducing vehicle weight.
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NEW MATERIALS AND PROCESSING OPPORTUNITIES The structural applications considered in this report are divided into three categories: the frame running the length of the vehicle, to which the engine, drivetrain, suspension, and truck bed are all attached; the secondary structural elements, or vehicle parts that carry passengers and cargo, such as the cab and cargo bed; and the structural drivetrain, including driveshafts, suspension, steering mechanism, and braking components. Time frames in the report are operationally defined as follows: .
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Finally, for long-term applications, Army trucks can benefit from investment in titanium, smart materials, and additive metal process technologies. Investments in advanced materials, including nonferrous alloys, composites, and coatings, that offer superior performance and reduced operations, maintenance, and service costs would serve the longer-term, mission-specific needs of future tactical trucks and combat programs.
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. The Army should support the development of databases of the properties of these materials as well as the development of models for processing lightweight materials and for predicting the performance of components manufactured using these materials.
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The following three recommendations address enabling technology insertion. Future Tactical Truck Strategy The Army truck fleet continues to degrade faster than it can be upgraded through new acquisitions, forcing the Army to use recapitalization techniques 6
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initiative requires a 75 percent reduction in vehicle fuel consumption.2 This initiative will most certainly require the aggressive application of lightweight materials. The initial application of lightweight materials may increase the acquisition cost of a new truck, although the use of these materials may reduce life-cycle costs through enhanced corrosion resistance and reduced energy consumption.
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RECOMMENDATION. THE ARMY SHOULD MODIFY ITS BID SOLICITATION AND PROCUREMENT PROCESSES TO STIMULATE AND REINFORCE DESIRED REACTIONS, INCLUDING: The Army should clearly define the performance attributes that are important in its use of trucks.
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System for Tracking Vehicle Age and Condition Army trucks are kept in service far beyond their economically useful life, resulting in increased operations and support costs and decreased performance. The effectiveness ratio of the total Army tactical wheeled vehicle fleet was recently calculated to be about 0.63 (compared with 1.0 for a new fleet)
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To respond to this requirement, the Army must take the lead in driving investments in new materials that have the potential to deliver competitive advantage in the logistics arena, supporting warfighters and combat equipment. At the same time, the Army can more actively leverage new materials and manufacturing technologies from the private and academic sectors by investing directly in research and development programs that lead to proof-of-concept demonstrations.
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The emphasis of participants from the commercial automotive industry on the affordability of new materials, such as titanium, magnesium, and polymer matrix composites, should greatly facilitate prudent investment decisions by the Army. By working more closely with university centers of excellence, the Army can identify new enabling technologies in lightweight materials and in sensing and vehicle health monitoring, and it can also fund demonstration projects.
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