Large Wheel Research Articles

Development and characterization of a rotary ultrasonic grinding tool with large cup wheel for SiCp/Al composites

Development and characterization of a rotary ultrasonic grinding tool with large cup wheel for SiCp/Al composites

Chassis concept of the individually steerable five-link suspension: a novel approach to maximize the road wheel angle to improve vehicle agility

The Institute of Vehicle Systems Engineering at Ulm University of Applied Sciences is currently developing the autonomous concept vehicle Nimbulus-e in the strategic field “Intelligent Commercial Vehicles” with the aim of maneuvering as agilely as possible in confined spaces. To achieve high agility under the conditions mentioned, large road wheel steering angles are necessary. As part of the basic vehicle concept, the first step is to select a suitable chassis for this purpose. Conventional suspensions cannot be applied due to the mechanical connection of the tie rod to the steering knuckle limiting the road wheel angles. Therefore, the approaches published so far for individual chassis concepts with large steering angles are analyzed and evaluated for use. In this paper, the concept of a novel individually steerable five-link suspension is described. The concept includes a vehicle body mounted steering actuator connected to the chassis via a self-locking worm gear. Due to the body mounted connection of the steering actuator, it does not contribute to the unsprung mass. An analysis of the kinematic and elastokinematic properties and the achievable road wheel steering angle is presented. In the Nimbulus e concept vehicle, the individually steerable corner module is used on both the front and the rear axle. The system is driven by four wheel hub motors. This means that eight control variables are available for the vehicle.

DELIVERY AUTOMATION ROBOT USING ARDUINO MICROCONTROLLER

The Delivery Automation Robot project aims to develop a robust and efficient autonomous delivery robot for last-mile logistics operations. Built upon a foundation of sturdy hardware components including a four-wheel metal chassis and large wheels, the Delivery Automation Robot ensures stability and durability while navigating diverse terrains. Integrated with advanced control systems such as the L298n motor driver shield, NODEMCU, and Arduino Uno, the robot offers precise movement control and data processing capabilities. Equipped with essential sensors like the magnetometer HMC5883 and NEO 6m GPS module, the MDAR achieves accurate localization and navigation, crucial for optimizing delivery routes. Additionally, wireless communication facilitated by the HC06 Bluetooth module enables remote monitoring and control. Overall, the Delivery Automation Robot represents an innovative solution poised to revolutionize last-mile delivery processes, enhancing efficiency and reliability in logistics operations. Keywords: four-wheel chassis, L298n motor driver, NODEMCU, Arduino Uno, magnetometer HMC5883, NEO 6m GPS module, HC06 Bluetooth module.

Calculation of the producing surfaces of milling cutters for processing gears of eccentric-cycloidal engagement

The paper considers a new method for processing curved gears of eccentric-cycloidal engagement with a curved profile using a special tool. The surfaces of wheels of eccentric-cycloidal engagement with a curved profile for small and large wheels are simulated. The scheme of forming a small wheel of eccentric-cycloidal engagement using a shaped milling cutter with a constructive radial feed is shown. The producing surface of the milling cutter is obtained, which allows to fulfill all the conditions of shaping when implementing the proposed scheme for shaping a small wheel of eccentric-cycloidal engagement with a curved profile. For a large wheel, a shaping scheme using the rolling method using a worm wheel is proposed. Modeling of the producing surface of a worm mill for shaping the surface of a large wheel of eccentric-cycloidal engagement using the rolling method is performed. This approach can be used in the design of milling cutters designed for processing curved gears of eccentric-cycloidal engagement of various sizes. The use of such tools will make it possible to make the transition to serial and mass production of gears with this engagement.

Trunk motion influences mechanical power estimates during wheelchair propulsion

In wheelchair sports, there is an increasing need to monitor mechanical power in the field. When rolling resistance is known, inertial measurement units (IMUs) can be used to determine mechanical power. However, upper body (i.e., trunk) motion affects the mass distribution between the small front and large rear wheels, thus affecting rolling resistance. Therefore, drag tests – which are commonly used to estimate rolling resistance – may not be valid. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of trunk motion on mechanical power estimates in hand-rim wheelchair propulsion by comparing instantaneous resistance-based power loss with drag test-based power loss. Experiments were performed with no, moderate and full trunk motion during wheelchair propulsion. During these experiments, power loss was determined based on 1) the instantaneous rolling resistance and 2) based on the rolling resistance determined from drag tests (thus neglecting the effects of trunk motion). Results showed that power loss values of the two methods were similar when no trunk motion was present (mean difference [MD] of 0.6 ± 1.6 %). However, drag test-based power loss was underestimated up to −3.3 ± 2.3 % MD when the extent of trunk motion increased (r = 0.85). To conclude, during wheelchair propulsion with active trunk motion, neglecting the effects of trunk motion leads to an underestimated mechanical power of 1 to 6 % when it is estimated with drag test values. Depending on the required accuracy and the amount of trunk motion in the target group, the influence of trunk motion on power estimates should be corrected for.

Fabrication of Large Alumina Grit-Based Monolayer Grinding Wheel through Electroplating Followed by Detonation Gun Spray Technique for Increased Material Removal

Fabrication of Large Alumina Grit-Based Monolayer Grinding Wheel through Electroplating Followed by Detonation Gun Spray Technique for Increased Material Removal

The Loterias Lisbonenses of Francisco Giraldes Barba

The extraction of lotteries has always been a problematic matter. In the early days, when two large wheels were used – one for the tickets, another for the corresponding prices – the whole process could take many days. In Portugal, in 1834, a book was published, written by a member of the Real Academia das Cincias, describing his invention: a method of implementation of a lottery with 22,100 tickets, which needed nothing more than a common deck of 52 playing cards. We try, in the text below, to make clear the ingenuity of the corresponding process.

A photoelastic method for stress analysis of granular terrain beneath a wheel

This paper presents a photoelastic method for the stress analyses of granular terrains beneath a traveling wheel. Recently, wheel terramechanics have been studied using various advanced techniques such as particle velocimetry and machine learning. However, the dynamic profiles of the stress distributions in soil have not been directly observed. In this paper, we propose a photoelastic method to experimentally demonstrate the two-dimensional stress analysis of a granular terrain. This method uses photoelastic disks as terrain particles; thus, the internal stress and propagation of the granular terrain can be visualized using the interference fringe of light. This study aimed to observe the dynamic behavior of grains, typically simulating circular or spherical objects of the granular terrain. To demonstrate the photoelastic method for simulated ground, we developed a single-wheel testbed using photoelastic materials. Moreover, the effects of mixing with non-photoelastic materials were investigated to simulate steady states with small and large wheel-slip conditions. This paper presents a force chain analysis of the photoelastic particles beneath a single traveling wheel. The force chain structure was geometrically compared with the propagation angle and length. In addition, the orientational orders of the force chains were quantitatively evaluated under both small and large wheel slip conditions. The experimental results confirmed that the photoelastic method can reveal dynamic changes in the internal stress structures of granular terrain beneath the wheel under various slip conditions.

Two new species of the bathyal holothurian genus Pannychia (Elasipodida, Laetmogonidae) from Japanese waters.

Sea cucumbers are one of the most common large animals in the deep-sea benthic communities, and those of the genus Pannychia are particularly abundant in the bathyal North Pacific Ocean. In Japanese waters, three species of Pannychia have been reported, mainly from the northern and eastern parts of the country. Here, we describe two new species from the western part of Japan. These two new species were placed in Pannychia by the presence of dorsal papillae on the ventrolateral radii and the presence of large wheel ossicles with rim teeth. They are distinguished from all other nominal species of Pannychia on the basis of the morphological characteristics of their body wheel ossicles. Pannychia nagasakimaruae sp. nov. has a unique ossicle composition in its dorsal and ventral body walls: four forms of wheel ossicles. Pannychia rinkaimaruae sp. nov. differs from other congeners in its small wheel ossicles in the dorsal and ventral body walls, which have conical rim teeth. We barcoded partial COI gene sequences from holotypes and paratypes of two new Japanese species. Our molecular phylogenetic analysis showed that these two new morphologically recognized Japanese species form distinct clades separated from other Pacific Pannychia species, so that the two new Japanese species were also supported by genetic results. In addition, we describe and visualize the poorly calcified calcareous rings of the two new species using X-ray μCT system, a useful method for observing such structures, which are important structures in holothurian anatomy.

Research on the squeeze casting process of large wheel hub based on FEM and RSM

Research on the squeeze casting process of large wheel hub based on FEM and RSM

Study on Characteristics of Two Phase Flow Field in Grinding Zone of Large Spiral Angle Groove Wheel

Aiming at the high specific removal energy and heat generation rate in grinding process, and the low heat transfer efficiency in grinding arc zone of ordinary grinding wheel, the problems of local high temperature and grinding burn are easy to occur. In this paper, the plane grinding of grooving wheel with large spiral Angle is taken as the research object, and the numerical analysis model of gas-liquid two-phase flow field in wedge zone and grinding arc zone is established. The enhancement mechanism of heat transfer performance in grinding arc of large spiral Angle groove wheel was investigated. The results show that the flow of grinding fluid into the grinding arc will be hindered by the airflow around the grinding wheel, resulting in backflow and side leakage. Compared with ordinary grinding wheels without grooves, the backflow and side drainage in grinding zone of big spiral Angle grooves grinding wheels are significantly reduced, and a large amount of grinding fluid is transported in the heat exchange channel. The spiral groove has a good conduction effect on the grinding fluid, and the grinding fluid is easier to enter the grinding zone, thus significantly improving the heat transfer performance of the grinding zone and effectively reducing the grinding temperature during the grinding process.

Use of Mobile Sensing Data for Assessing Vibration Impact of E-Scooters with Different Wheel Sizes

With the growing demand of shared electric scooters (e-scooters) for short-distance trips in urban areas, their safety issues have received significant attention from various stakeholders. In general, e-scooter riders encounter more vibrations compared with users of other transportation modes such as bicycles that typically have larger wheels and better suspension systems. Such riding experience may lead to discomfort, affect riders’ health, and increase riding risk. Intuitively, increasing e-scooters’ wheel sizes may provide safer and more comfortable riding experience. However, this assumption has not been well tested. The main objective of this paper is to curtail this gap by quantitatively assessing the impacts riders experienced, through the use mobile sensing data. Specifically, a mobile sensing platform was deployed on e-scooters with different wheel sizes to continuously measure encountered vibrations. Then, the instrumented e-scooters were ridden on routes with different pavement materials. Finally, the collected data were further processed and analyzed to evaluate various riding issues in each riding scenario. The comparative results suggest that e-scooters with larger wheels can efficiently alleviate vibrations during a ride compared with those with smaller wheels. To improve riding experience and safety, it is beneficial to use larger-wheel e-scooters, given other similar riding conditions.

Casting of Wire Using Twin Wheel Caster with Melt Holding Nozzle

A twin-wheel caster with a hole nozzle was developed to cast thin aluminum alloy wire. The lower large wheel had a trapezoid groove with a cross-sectional area of 22.5 mm2, and the upper small wheel was flat. Molten-metal flow onto the wheel was controlled by the gap between the wheel and the nozzle, and the ejection angle of the molten metal. When the gap was not appropriate, bulges formed on the free solidified surface of the molten metal on the wheel. The bulges were flattened by setting the gap to the correct size of 3 to 4 mm. The appropriate angle was found to be 60°. A thin wire of 6061 aluminum alloy could be cast continuously at a speed of 5 m/min. The cross-sectional area of the nozzle hole was 3 mm2. The cross-sectional area of the as-cast wire was 42.7 mm2.

The Method of Determination of Properties of Air Springs with Two Pressure Stages and Counterpressure

BACKGROUND: The issues of choosing reasonable properties for suspension system of wheeled vehicles, including vehicles for agricultural purposes, still remain relevant, especially for the vehicles, which load capacity is comparable to their curb mass. Significant difference between static loads, acting in suspension under the curb and total masses of a vehicle, is a consequence of high load capacity. Two or three times difference is possible (depending on axles load distribution), whereas 70% to 80% of mass of trailing load is on rear axles. Use of convenient suspension systems with metal springs is not able to ensure demanded nonlinearity of properties, where non-zero static wheel travel under the curb mass is kept with reasonable value of period of vertical eigenmodes for curb-massed and total-massed vehicle as well as with dynamic factor value. Air springs with two pressure stages are more advanced solution, as they allow choosing stiffness for small and large wheel travel by means of operation of different pressure stages, which volumes are conditioned by differents stiffnesses in area of static displacement.
 AIMS: The aim of the study, which results are given in this paper, is to develop the method of determination of main design parameters and characteristics of air springs with two pressure stages (stiffnesses) and counterpressure, applicable for ensuring non-zero static wheel travel of curb-massed vehicles with keeping the given value of dynamic factor.
 METHODS: The analytical analysis methods are used.
 RESULTS: An example of implementation of the developed method for the KamAZ-53215 Selhoznik truck is given as the study result.
 CONCLUSIONS: The dependencies, presented in the paper, make possible to determine main design parameters of uncontrolled air suspensions with two pressure stages (and stiffnesses) and counterpressure for wheeled vehicles, which give an opportunity to ensure given values of static wheel travel and dynamic factor and, in addition, provide insignificant increase of stiffness in comparison to air suspensions without counterpressure.

A review on the usability of wheeled luggage

Material handling aids are of concern to researchers as they seek ways to minimise workload and the risk of injury. Most researchers have focused on industrial carts, while wheeled luggage has received little attention. Some of the previous studies on wheeled luggage have recommended that wheeled luggage be treated as a material handling aid and that researchers study the usability of wheeled luggage more. Four main types of wheeled luggage are identified and these have three modes of movement: pushing, pulling or a combination of both. Pulled wheeled luggage designs have been found to have ergonomic flaws such as too much stress on the pulling arm and awkward postures. Design analysis shows that most existing wheeled luggage is unsuitable for developing countries because of poor ergonomics, instability and low usability on rough or rural terrain. Larger wheels and higher ground clearance can address some of the concerns. Initial findings show that push-trolley luggage addresses most of the main design inadequacies of pulled two-wheel luggage. Studies need to be carried out to determine the potential of push-trolley luggage and design of wheeled luggage for developing countries. Some existing design solutions can be optimised to improve or replace the designs of the most widely used wheeled luggage. Optimised wheeled push-trolley luggage is suggested as a solution to headloading and drudgery in developing countries. An online journal search, journal analysis and rural terrain analysis are conducted. Three wheeled bags were tested on rural terrain in two developing countries and their performance was inadequate.

Parametric and self-excited oscillation produced in railway wheelset due to mass imbalance and large wheel tread angle

Parametric and self-excited oscillation produced in railway wheelset due to mass imbalance and large wheel tread angle

A TRIZ-Integrated Conceptual Design Process of a Smart Lawnmower for Uneven Grassland

Existing smart lawnmowers, while convenient to use, have significant limitations, such as a lack of manoeuvrability on uneven agricultural grassland (constraint 1), high charging frequency (constraint 2) and low local market penetration (constraint 3). Although the effectiveness of the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) has been demonstrated in several design studies, there also seems to be a lack of research addressing the design difficulties of smart lawnmowers using this method. With the use of the TRIZ method, this study seeks to conceptually design a smart lawnmower for uneven grassland. Tools from TRIZ were used, including cause-effect chain analysis, technical contradictions, physical contradictions, and substance field modelling. In developing a design concept, constraints were solved by inventive principles, separation strategies and standard inventive solutions. For constraint 1, the following solutions were chosen with the appropriate principles: using larger wheels (#17, another dimension: using a second or third dimension), a pivot design (#30, flexible shell: replacing rigidity with flexibility and movability) and replacing the motor with one that has more power or torque. For constraint 2, the following solutions were chosen: to reduce weight, add holes in the mower housing (#31, porous materials: making an object porous or adding porous elements) and attach a solar panel to recharge batteries with solar energy (#28, mechanical substitution: using electric, magnetic or other fields to interact with object). Using other materials or technologies to minimise costs (#13, the other way around: using the opposite way) and a modular design concept to reduce maintenance costs (#1, segmentation: dividing an object into independent parts) were the chosen ways to solve constraint 3. Conceptualisation and design analysis were also performed. Although the effectiveness of the concept is unclear, these suggestions are supported by previous research and could potentially solve some of the problems with smart lawnmowers.

A Torque Conversion Solution to the Powertrain of Mobile Machine and Its Control Strategy

The demand for reducing fuel consumption and emission of mobile machines is increasing since they consume large amount of energy and generate huge exhaust each year. The wheel loader is a representative mobile machine and large wheel loader typically employs a hydrodynamic torque converter and an automatic transmission in the powertrain. The torque converter provides large torque amplification at low vehicle speed, however generates large amount of heat inside. This brings a challenge during frequent vehicle start and stop. In this study, an alternative torque conversion solution to the powertrain of mobile machine with a power split hydraulic transmission is proposed, where the hydraulic transmission is a substitute for the torque converter. It eliminates overheating problem by dissipating the heat inside through its outlet. The mathematical models of the proposed powertrain including the wheel drive and working function are developed. An engine-speed-based system optimization is conducted and a rule-based control strategy based on optimization results is developed. The engine operations and engine fuel consumptions with optimization-based and rule-based control strategies are compared using three different loading cycles (57 s, 30 s, 90 s). The results show the effectiveness of proposed powertrain solution and its control strategy.

Analysis of the Reasons Why the Ancient Chinese Water-propelled Large Spinning Wheel Could Not Give Birth to the “Chinese-style Industrial Revolution”

China had already invented the water-propelled large spinning wheel as early as the Yuan Dynasty, but it is not until 16th century that Arkwright had invented water-propelled spinning frame in the United Kingdom. The difference between the two is that Chinese water-propelled large spinning wheel is more than 300 years ahead of Britain’s invention, but Chinese water-propelled large spinning wheel didn’t trigger an industrial revolution like Britain. Through inspection of Chinese water rights system and cotton yarn production system, this article believed that among the factors that influenced the development of the water-propelled large wheel in ancient Chinese society, not only the technical factors played an important role, but also the water rights system for heavy shipping, irrigation and the cotton yarn production system based on rural sideline industries seriously obstructed the use of the water-propelled large wheel and emergence the industrial revolution in China.

Perancangan Turbin Pelton untuk Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Air

In developing countries the necessity and the possibilities to manufacture machines locally are inc!easing. Often be necessary equipment, machines, material and the skilled labour as well as technical staff are available, but what is missing is the information and the know-how. One category of machines used to harness walet power and which can be produced locally, are water turbines. In some countries there is an established tradition in the production, installing and running of small water mills. Often these are units with simple vertical axis wheels or are large water wheels. For example, one country with experience on vertical axis water wheels.This research summarizes the simple calculations for designing a Pelton turbine with a head of water falling of 1130 m, with a discharge of Q = 28.5 m3/s, so that based on the calculations, a power of P = 288 MW is obtained.