Telaketju

Telaketju is a propulsion and suspension system used on tracked vehicles, such as tanks, bulldozers, tractors, and snowmobiles. It consists of a continuous loop of linked plates or rubber segments that wrap around wheels and provide ground contact. The design distributes the vehicle’s weight over a large surface area, reducing ground pressure and improving mobility on soft or uneven surfaces such as snow, mud, or loose soil.

Construction and operation are based on a drive sprocket, an idler wheel, and a set of support rollers that define the track path along the bottom. In steel tracks, rigid plates are connected by pins to form the loop; rubber tracks use a flexible belt with embedded reinforcing elements. The track is kept under tension by a spring or hydraulic tensioner and guided by bogies or rollers to maintain proper alignment during movement.

Advantages of telaketju include enhanced traction, stability, and weight distribution, enabling locomotion over challenging terrain where wheels would struggle. They provide good obstacle negotiation and flotation on soft ground. Disadvantages include higher maintenance needs, greater complexity, increased energy loss due to friction, and potential for damage from sharp objects or debris. Replacement and repair can be more involved than for wheeled systems.

Applications span military vehicles, construction machinery, agricultural tractors, and certain consumer snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. In Finland and other snowy regions, telaketjut are valued for their capability to operate in winter conditions and over soft terrain, though the concept exists in many tracked-vehicle designs worldwide.