Wheel Rigidity Research Articles

Effect of design and material on structural rigidity of automobile wheel - an optimisation approach

An automobile wheel plays a vital role in supporting the tyre and the entire weight of any vehicle. This study aims to examine the distribution of stress and deformation across 5-twin-spoke and multi-spoke wheel designs whilst varying lightweight materials, as well as optimise the base designs of the wheel such that they reach an optimum level. The wheel was modelled using SolidWorks, before being analyse by Finite Element Analysis software whereby aluminium and magnesium alloys were assigned. The structural rigidity of the wheel models was assessed by conducting static structural analysis and radial fatigue analysis. Changes in terms of total deformation, von-Mises and alternative stress were obtained, and tabulated. Optimisation of the wheel models was conducted by making necessary modifications to the base designs. The result shows that multi-spoke fared better than 5-twin-spoke in both analyses, and the notable weak point observed is the hub region. In term of material-wise, it was found that Magnesium AZ91D alloy generally has higher deformation, von-Mises and alternating stress than Aluminium 6061 Alloy. Future works could be focused more on conducting additional tests so that the wheel models are well-geared for road usage, such as impact and cornering fatigue tests.

Study on design of light-weight super-abrasive wheel

Fixed-abrasive tool, also called a grinding wheel, is produced by furnacing abrasive compound which contains abrasive grains and binding powder such as vitrified materials or resins. Fixed-abrasive tool is installed on spindle of grinding machine. And it is given 1,800-2,000 min−1 of spindle rotation for the usage. The centrifugal fracture of the compound of fixed- abrasive tool is one of the careful respects in designing. In recent years, however, super-abrasive wheel as a fixed-abrasive tool has been developed and applied widely. One of the most characteristic respects is that metal is applied for the body of grinding-wheel. The strength to hold abrasive grain and the rigidity of wheel become stronger than those of general grinding wheel, also the lifespan of fixed-abrasive tool becomes longer. The weight of fixed-abrasive tool, however, becomes heavier. Therefore, when the super-abrasive wheel is used, the power consumption of spindle motor becomes larger. It also becomes difficult for the grinding-wheel to respond to sudden acceleration or deceleration. Thus, in order to reduce power consumption in grinding and to obtain quicker frequency response of super-abrasive wheel, the new wheel design is proposed. The design accomplishes 46% weight reduction. Acceleration that is one second quicker than that of conventional grinding wheel is obtained.

2D FE–DEM analysis of tractive performance of an elastic wheel for planetary rovers

We have been developing a simulation program for use with soil–wheel interaction problems by coupling Finite Element Method (FEM) and Discrete Element Method (DEM) for which a wheel is modeled by FEM and soil is expressed by DEM. Previous two-dimensional FE–DEM was updated to analyze the tractive performance of a flexible elastic wheel by introducing a new algorithm learned from the PID-controller model. In an elastic wheel model, four structural parts were defined using FEM: the wheel rim, intermediate part, surface layer, and wheel lugs. The wheel rigidity was controlled by varying the Young’s Modulus of the intermediate part. The tractive performance of two elastic wheels with lugs for planetary rovers of the European Space Agency was analyzed. Numerical results were compared with experimentally obtained results collected at DLR Bremen, Germany. The FE–DEM result was confirmed to depict similar behaviors of tractive performance such as gross tractive effort, net traction, running resistance, and wheel sinkage, as in the results of experiments. Moreover, the tractive performance of elastic wheels on Mars was predicted using FE–DEM. Results clarified that no significant difference of net traction exists between the two wheels.

Reversible Parainfectious Bilateral “Striatal Necrosis”

Bilateral striatal necrosis is usually associated with either endogenous or exogenous toxins, and with poor neurodevelopmental outcomes. We describe two patients with acute bilateral striatal clinical syndrome and magnetic resonance signal changes who made a complete clinical and radiologic recovery within 3 months. After an uneventful pregnancy, normal birth, and normal development, both boys presented at ages 3 and 5 years, respectively, after a viral illness with slurring of speech, bradykinesia, and an extrapyramidal movement disorder. On examination, both manifested bilateral cog wheel rigidity, with a broad-based gait and flexor plantar response. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging in both children indicated bilateral, symmetric, high signal changes in the lentiform nucleus, predominately in the putamen, with sparing of the globus pallidi bilaterally. The brain parenchyma was otherwise normal. Neurometabolic investigations produced normal results in both patients. The pathogenesis is uncertain, but could be immune-mediated. Both children, at 3-year and 1-year follow-ups, respectively, are doing well neurologically and academically. Our patients demonstrate that abnormal imaging findings during acute stages do not preclude good clinical and radiologic recovery.

Defining the change of meshing rigidity caused by a crack in the gear tooth’s foot

In this paper, research results concerning the influence of the cracks at the base of the tooth of wheel on the change of the wheel rigidity is presented. In order to achieve this, a series of experiments was conducted with the use of models FEM and BEM. The correctness of the models was verified with the use of analytic method, whereas the final results were confirmed in a research experiment conducted on the endurance machine MTS. The achieved results enabled the conduction of research devoted to the possibility of use of simulation models of toothed gears to get the teaching data for artificial neural networks. The best of neural networks correctly worked during tests with real data. Keywords: gearbox, FEM, BEM, stiffness

A Tooth Surface Finishing Method with a New Tool of a Vitrified Cubic Boron Nitride Wheel for Involute Internal Spline.

For highly accurate and highly efficient tooth surface finishing, a vitrified cubic boron nitride (CBN) wheel or an electro-deposited CBN wheel exhibits superior performance. Honing by an involute spline tooth meshing is effective due to the generating motion. However, a lack of wheel rigidity and an inadequate feed motion of the wheel tend to reduce the finishing performance. As a result, it is difficult to keep the tooth surface smooth. In this study, the finishing with a vitrified CBN wheel is carried out using a new honing tool. The finishing performance is compared with that obtained using an electro-deposited wheel, and the finishing is carried out by braking an internal spline axis. The influence of different feed methods is investigated on the roughness of the finished tooth surface. The finishing using a vitrified CBN wheel and braking an internal spline axis shows superior performance.

A Tooth Finishing Method with A New Tool of a Vitrified CBN Wheel for Involute Internal Spline.

In high accurate and high efficient tooth finishing, a vitrified CBN (cubic boron nitride) wheel or a electro-deposited CBN wheel shows superior performance. And honing by a involute spline tooth meshing is profitable due to the generating motion. However, a lack of wheel rigidity and an inadequate feeding motion of the wheel trend to reduce finishing performance. As a result, it is difficult to keep the tooth surface smooth. In this study, the finishing with a vitrified CBN wheel is carried out using a new honing tool. The finishing performance is compared with that obtained using a electro-deposited wheel. And the finishing by braking a internal spline axis is carried out. The influence of different feeding methods is investigated on the finished tooth surface roughness. The finishing by using a vitrified CBN wheel and braking a internal spline axis shows superior performance.