Temperature prediction of mechanical elastic wheels: Theory analysis and experimental verification

Mechanical elastic wheel (MEW) is a special non-pneumatic wheel with explosion-proof and bullet-proof features, which has wide application prospects in the fields of military vehicles and special vehicles. Due to special structure and application, the temperature prediction of MEW is different from that of conventional tires and also significant for dynamic characteristics under complex working conditions. A theoretical model has been developed to predict the steady-state temperature of MEW under various driving conditions. Due to the special structure of MEW, this paper initially uses brush model and hysteresis energy loss model to explore the heat generation and dissipation mechanism of MEW. To ensure the accuracy, this paper design differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) test, thermal conductivity test to obtain the thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity and thermal diffusion coefficient of the tire rubber materials. Dynamic temperature scan, isothermal frequency scan and strain scan, three types of dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) tests are carried out to investigate hysteresis energy loss of the tire rubber materials. Mechanical characterization test of MEW is carried out to collect footprints with different number of hinges. The accuracy of the designed theoretical model is verified by designing three real-vehicle tests. Various factors that influence the temperature prediction model, such as tire load, vehicle speed, tire width, and number of hinges are analyzed. The results indicate that the proposed theoretical model is available and holds significant potential for predicting MEW temperature under various driving conditions.