tyres of the future

[bidderman1969]

Believe it or don't




Carolina , USA .

SEE THROUGH TIRES

Radical new tire design by Michelin.
The next generation of tires.
They had a pair at the Philadelphia car show.



Yes, those are “spoke” like connections to the inner part of the tire from the outside tread “wrap!” The next picture shows how odd it looks in motion....




Makes you wonder how the ride feels doesn't it?










These tires are airless and are scheduled to be out on the market very soon. The bad news for law enforcement is that spike strips will not work on these. Just think of the impact on existing technology:

A. no more air valves...
B. no more air compressors at gas stations...
C. no more repair kits...
D. no more flats...

These are actual pictures taken in the South Carolina plant of Michelin.

 

[Chris H]

this is old news mate!

 

[bidderman1969]

didnt say it was breaking news, lol

 

[Chris H]

you never said you were digging up 2003 archives either!

 

[bidderman1969]

got it in an email today, so thought i'd post it up

 

[The T.I.B.]

There are plenty of reasons why this design is not appropriate for general use

 

[Chris H]

youth and hacksaws

 

[The T.I.B.]

well, rubber tyres are also open to vandalism.

Other bad points:
failure of one spoke is terminal
increased cost of manufacture (2 part component)
increased cost of replacement
specific tools required to fit each wheel
not constant vertical force - the solution is to increase the number of spokes until it becomes almost solid -what have you gained?
more succeptible to accidental damage
poor quality version might present a hight risk

 

[The T.I.B.]

This has got me thinking some more.

The main issue with this design is that while the force of the road surface on the axle at low speed can be assumed to be constant (the wheel is supporting the same weight always), the suspension deflection will vary according to whether a spoke is perpendicular to the ground or not. So the car bumps around like a cart.

Issue 1
The rim deforms between spokes. This means that the car will sit at its highest when the axle is resting on a spoke perpendicular to the ground. The car will drop down as it rolls off that spoke.
Consequences: vibration, loss of traction, overheating, material fatigue

Issue 2
The spokes themselves bend. Now bending is fine in itself, it's entirely predictable, if not always desirable. But it looks like these spokes buckle when they get below the axle.

Dynamic buckling is a horrible thing to predict! What makes it worse is that the buckling load of a spoke is far greater than a typical bending load. Essentially each spoke will buckle all of a sudden and monster vibration will be felt - this is on top of the Issue 1 problems remember.

 

[Chris H]

those issues would only be relevant at low speeds though

 

[The T.I.B.]

those issues would only be relevant at low speeds though

The effects at high speed will only be lessened by 'centrifugal force' exerting on the rim between spokes which, unchecked, would result in the opposite problem - rims bulging out between spokes!

This design will never result in a constant vertical force on the axle at a constant speed, which a rubber tyre currently does

 

[bidderman1969]

what if they put a sidewall on it tho?

 

[The T.I.B.]

what if they put a sidewall on it tho?

... and called it a tyre you mean?

 

[bidderman1969]

well, yeah, as thats what it is.

just a different type of tyre, like no punctures, no flats.....

 

[Chris H]

loadings on tyres aren't that even trust me. What your saying tom isn't an issue.