Wear of tank track pads has been studied under different conditions. With T142 pads tested on an M-60 tank, the mode of failure was found to depend on the test conditions. Among eighteen experimental compounds tested, improved wear (vs. the standard compound) under one test condition was generally at the expense of poorer wear under one or both of the other test conditions. However, in agreement with previous results, an HNBR/Zn-methacrylate/peroxide compound gave improved wear rate under all three test conditions. Wear of the T142 pads on a hilly cross-country course and on a combination course was generally by massive chunking. On a paved road course, most compounds wore by pattern abrasion. A few compounds worn on this course formed deep pockets parallel to the surface, resulting in the eventual loss of the large flaps between the pocket and the surface. Pattern abrasion was also found on T156 pads of four different compounds, tested on an M-1 tank on the paved road course. The abrasion patterns of both types of pads had a shingled appearance, with the ridges pitched so as to bite into the road surface. The abrasion patterns were characterized quantitatively by profilometry, using standard parameters calculated for surface roughness of metals and other materials. The ridge height and its ratio to ridge spacing correlated positively with wear rate on the paved road; whereas there was no correlation of ridge spacing with wear rate. The compounds which gave the lowest wear rate on the paved road, including the HNBR compounds, gave shallow ridges with little or no pattern.

Chopped aramid fiber reinforced ionomer formulations were investigated as prototypes of military armor materials effective in providing protection against munition fragments. The dependence of ballistic impact resistance upon fiber openness was demonstrated by radiographs. Concentrations of 30 percent or less by volume of 1/4 and 1/2 in. fibers were injection moldable, However, the greater than optimum dispersion of fibers as a result of extrusion compounding or of the injection molding itself resulted in lower ballistic resistance and in usually lower tensile and flexural strength properties than were achieved by compression molding: Compression molding of suitably opened 1/4, 1/2 and 2 in. fibers produced rigid materials with fiber contents as high as 90 percent by volume. Ballistic impact resistance increased linearly with fiber content.

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