Comparative Analysis of Static Loading Performance of Rigid and Flexible Road Wheel based on Finite Element Method

Yaoji Deng; Youqun Zhao; Mingmin Zhu; Zhen Xiao; Qiuwei Wang

doi:10.14429/dsj.70.14040

Yaoji Deng College of Energy and Power Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing - 210 016, Peoples R China https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5522-0236
Youqun Zhao College of Energy and Power Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing - 210 016, Peoples R China
Mingmin Zhu College of Energy and Power Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing - 210 016, Peoples R China
Zhen Xiao College of Energy and Power Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing - 210 016, Peoples R China
Qiuwei Wang College of Energy and Power Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing - 210 016, Peoples R China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14429/dsj.70.14040

Keywords: Rigid road wheel, Flexible road wheel, Finite element method, Static loading performance, Contact characteristic

Abstract

To overcome the shortcomings of traditional rigid road wheel, such as poor damping effect and low load-bearing efficiency, a new type of flexible road wheel, having a unique suspension-bearing mode, was introduced. The three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model of rigid and flexible road wheel, considering the triple nonlinear characteristics of geometry, material and contact, is established for numerical investigation of static loading performance. The accuracy of the finite element model of the rigid and flexible road wheel is verified by static loading experiment. The static loading performance of the rigid and flexible road wheels is numerically analyzed. The influence of vertical load on maximum stress and deformation of the rigid and flexible wheels is also studied. The results show that the contact pressure uniformity of the flexible road wheel is better than that of the rigid road wheel under the static vertical load, but the maximum stress and deformation of the flexible road wheel are greater than that of the rigid road wheel. However, this problem can be solved by increasing the number of hinge sets and optimising the joints. The research results provide theoretical basis for replacing rigid road wheel with flexible road wheel, and also provide reference for structural optimisation of flexible road wheel.

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