This research strives to enhance the safety of multi-piece wheel assemblies as injuries and fatalities are associated with their failure, yet information on this topic is limited. Experiments were performed to determine mechanical performance and planar deformation characteristics of several tires to aid in numerical model development. For a 29.5-29 tire, observations included determining vertical versus lateral deflection relationships (0.310 mm/mm), and vertical (2.59 kN/mm) and lateral (6.29 kN/mm) stiffness. A database capable of tracking wheel maintenance trends based on historical data was developed, allowing maintenance schedules to be estimated. A safety shield system was proposed. Effectiveness of the design was examined through numerical simulation of the ISO 7141 impact test, a tire blowout, and a rotational side impact. Depending on the test condition, observations comparing shield-equipped versus standard wheels show reductions in von Mises stress between 15% and 55% and reductions in effective plastic strains between 20.3% and 92%.
In-Field Observations of Heavy Mining Vehicle Wheels and Analyses of Proposed Solutions to Enhance Safety
2014-01-01
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Hochschulschrift
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
DDC: | 629 |