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Caterpillar track


 

Caterpillar tracks are large (modular) tracks used on tanks, construction equipment and certain other off-road vehicles. Unlike the rubber-made Kegresse tracks used on snowmobiles, the Caterpillar tracks are made of metal or some rigid material. The tracks help the vehicle to distribute its weight more evenly over a larger surface area than wheels can, keeping it from sinking in areas where wheeled vehicles of the same weight would sink. For instance, the ground pressure of a car is equal to the pressure of the air in the tires, perhaps 30 PSI (207 kPa), whereas the seventy-tonne M1 Abrams tank has a ground pressure of just over 15 PSI (103 kPa).

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