Research Progress on Kind of Non-pneumatic Mechanical Elastic Safety Wheel

Abstract

Tire is the only medium of contact and interaction between vehicle system and road surface, which directly affects the handling stability, driving safety and ride comfort of vehicle system. However, traditional pneumatic tires often have some hidden dangers, such as drum burst, tire burst, exhaust and unstable tire pressure, which seriously affect the safety of vehicle operation. The basic concept of run-flat tire (RFT) is defined, and the present research status of RFT and the practical significance of developing RFT are summarized. The structure and principle of the non-pneumatic mechanical elastic safety wheel (MES-wheel) are expounded, respectively. These models, including numerical calculation models and simplified analytical models, are introduced. Moreover, the various characteristics of MES-wheel, including the vertical force, longitudinal force, lateral force, cornering properties, camber performance, dynamic performance, response characteristic, tractive characteristic and enveloping properties were presented; the bench test and vehicle test are carried out to validate the results of the simulating calculation. The research results revealed the basic characteristics of MES-wheel. The MES-wheel is put forward, which established the basic theory to study and promote the idea of RFT developing during automotive field. Hopefully, it can boost the development of non-pneumatic safety wheel in the future.