A feasibility study of plastic as an alternative to air package in performance vehicle

Abstract

Blowing tires are far more than just distress. The Government body National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates 733 fatalities in 2016 alone and at least 11,000 tire-related crashes arise every year, also not all of these were a result of a burst tire, but unquestionably they contribute. This analysis aims to replace packaging materials like air with different non-explosive medium. In this analysis, plastic is the priority material as there is an abundance of plastic on earth and we need to manage the extensive use of plastic. Every year 380 million tons of plastic get wasted. In this analysis, we are considering a Formula one tire which is a sport of extensive engineering and ideas. Only static structural analysis is carried as a lack of resources of manufacturing a special type of plastic which again is the other way around then of reducing the pollution. The model of the wheel was prepared according to the rules stated by the FIA in SOLIDWORKS 2016. The necessary calculations include reaction forces, mass-energy conversions and bending moments. The model was analysed for two materials which are air and polyethylene. The virtual simulation and structural analysis were performed using ANSYS workbench. Some of the important parameters which were considered for analysis are the order of an element, mesh size and mesh type. Both the air and polyethylene simulation results were compared and a convergence graph is plotted to check the results of deformation with varying element sizes.