Friday 11 September 2009

Airless Tires for Military Vehicles

Airless Tires for Military Vehicles: "


Photo: Resilient Technologies


Pneumatic tires take a lot of abuse in combat, which is why Resilient Technologies is trying to develop an airless tire. Because they can’t be punctured, vehicles equipped with such tires can stay mobile after taking damage that would incapacitate others:


The Wisconsin design breakthrough, first developed by Resilient’s in-house design and development team, takes a page from nature. “The goal was to reduce the variation in the stiffness of the tire, to make it transmit loads uniformly and become more homogenous,” Osswald says. “And the best design, as nature gives it to us, is really the honeycomb.”….


The patent-pending Resilient design relies on a precise pattern of six-sided cells that are arranged, like a honeycomb, in a way that best mimics the “ride feel” of pneumatic tires. The honeycomb geometry also does a great job of reducing noise levels and reducing heat generated during usage – two common problems with past applications.

Link via DVICE

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