Paper Number 5.3
Carbon Fiber - Polyurethane
Self-Supporting
Airless Tire
Sunil
Kumar Bandaru
Jon
Gerhardt
American Engineering Group
Voice: (330) 375-1975
Fax: (330) 645-9385
Email: abraham@engingeering-group.com
Military
tire-wheel (MTW) assembly for future tactical and combat vehicles is placing
emphasis on handling, traction, and cornering tire performance for the light trucks.
In order to meet these high performance standards, solid tires with an aspect
ratio lower than 0.35 have been developed by American Engineering Group (AEG),
• Tire
Size: LT225/35R19
• Rim
Width: 7.0 inches
• Tread
Width: 7.6inches
•
Overall Diameter: 25.0 inches
• Speed
rating:40mph
AEG aims
to eliminate tire blowouts with its remarkable integrated Carbon Fiber
Ring-Wheel “MTW” assembly, a solid one-piece wheel-and-tread system that could
soon enter manufacturing. The MTW's rim is bonded to soft polyurethane foam
that provides the shock-absorbing property of a traditional pneumatic tire. The
circumference of the soft polyurethane foam layer is bonded to a Carbon Fiber
ring along with tire tread. By varying the thickness and geometry of the polyurethane
soft layer, this unique tire-wheel assembly can generate a wide array of ride
and handling performance.
The MTW’s
vertical stiffness (ride comfort performance) and lateral stiffness (handling
and cornering performance) can both be optimized, pushing the performance
envelope in various military applications. The purpose of this paper is to
illustrate the effectiveness of integrated footprint analysis using FEA in the
designs of “pneumatic tires”, “high aspect ratio airless tires”, and “solid foam
tires”. This research work is development of a military airless tire using
carbon fiber and Polyurethane. This paper provides an integral step by step
approach to model the footprint analysis using ABAQUS standard software. The
computer simulation developed in this paper is divided into three tire designs
according to the type of tire applications.