Kinematic and force parameters of an elastic wheel when rolling on a flat rigid surface

Abstract

The implementation of forces and moments applied to the wheels of a vehicle occurs in the zone of contact of the wheels with the supporting surface, and therefore the analytical determination of their force and kinematic parameters should be based on consideration of the phenomena occurring in contact. One of the directions for solving these problems is based on a technique based on the theory of preliminary displacement of wheel surface elements in the contact zone with the supporting surface and dividing the contact area into adhesion and sliding zones, which makes it possible to take a new approach to the consideration of wheel rolling mechanics. The use of this technique makes it possible to obtain relatively simple equations for such power and kinematic parameters of the wheel as the coefficient of rolling resistance, the coefficient of tangential elasticity of the wheel, and hysteretic losses in the wheel material. The derived equations contain a small number of parameters that can be easily determined experimentally and are convenient for both theoretical and practical use. Comparison of theoretical and experimental results with studies of other authors shows their relatively small discrepancy, which confirms the validity of the research methodology used, as well as the assumptions made.