Parametric analysis and optimization of pentagonal auxetic metamaterial for airless tire

Abstract Airless tires are gaining popularity as they address concerns of flat tires in pneumatic tires, among other issues such as required regular maintenance, maneuverability, and susceptibility to varying temperatures. Airless tires are also known as pneumatic tires and are considered an innovation to the commonly used pneumatic tires. One of the new approaches to designing airless tires is through pentagonal auxetic metamaterial (PAM). This work focuses on designing a pentagonal auxetic metamaterial for an airless bicycle tire structure. Using computer-aided design (CAD) software and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) in a commercially available software called ANSYS, the study aims to conduct a comprehensive design analysis of a PAM airless tire that concentrates on its mechanical characteristics. This involves the development of a specialized FEA model to represent the unique properties of pentagonal auxetic structures accurately. The design goal of the study is to evaluate the unit cell of the PAM in terms of numerous variables such as negative Poisson’s ratio, quasi-static deformation, equivalent stress, equivalent strain, maximum shear stress, rolling resistance, energy absorption, and metamaterial density. Based on these variables, the optimal configuration of the PAM airless tire is determined using the Box-Behnken design of the experiment. The results have shown that a base of 30.48 millimeters, a thickness of 1.27 millimeters, and an angle of 65 degrees were the ideal geometric configurations based on the equivalent stress and strain and the total deformation. Concerning the negative Poisson’s ratio under compression, the developed design makes it easier to customize tire stiffness for various applications and improves energy absorption capacities. The PAM design in airless tires shows great promise for enhancing the performance of bicycle tires and developing non-pneumatic tire technology.