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Over the past several years increasing concern is expressed over the impact of tractors and heavy-duty trucks on the environment. One of the factors specific to this type of vehicles is the level of soil damage inflicted by the vehicle. This article suggests methods of ameliorating this type of damage. It is suggested that the harmful impact of the vehicle on the soil be assessed on the basis of an index that takes into account the reduction in the soil's reproductive capacity due to being traversed by vehicular wheels. A computational method is suggested that allows the design of off-road vehicles; it takes into account the number of axles and their arrangement along the base; the distribution of load between the axles, the type and specifics of the drivelines, tire models and pressure, turning patterns, etc. This method allows comparative evaluation of various vehicles, whether already in existence or under design.

All-wheel-drive highway trucks with a “flexible” or hydrostatic drives are lately coming into increasingly wide use. These trucks are provided with step-less control of power supplied to the wheels, something that improves the traction and velocity performance, conserves fuel and reduces the environmental impact of these vehicles. This article presents principles of design and layouts of systems for controlling “flexible” transmission of power to AWD highway trucks. It presents relationships defining the optimum distribution of power to the driving wheels of the AWD vehicle that allow obtaining optimum traction and minimum power losses. The methods described in the article make it possible to control the distribution of power between the wheels of a vehicle with any number of wheels.