D-Wheels (Concept Bit)

"Moose Kitty" (moosekitty) 05/07/2014 at 19:35 • Filed to: None

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So to start off it would be expensive, complex, and have a plethora of issues but D-wheels. If you don't already understand my technical babble: its a wheel that when in contact with the ground it looks like a D (no not a dick) on its side. It looks like this:

Concepty right? Well i first saw this wheel when FLAKE came around. The designer originally made it for styling purposes, but latter expanded on the idea. It creates a larger contact patch and the springy bits holding the tire pads are like a second suspension system.

Things i would change are the pads, the spring design, and the space inside the wheel. Starting with the pads...make them strips. If the wheel has a large contact patch it doesn't need to have that grip loss on hopes and wishes. The spring design doesn't need much changed but it does need to actually collapse able. Yes it's a render, but as it stands now there wouldn't be a place for springs and/or dampers. The space needs to be filled. There's nowhere for brakes unless you use a system where the brake is on the drive shaft or hooked up like this:

With this though the wheels are chain driven, and if a diff were to be used then complications follow. Anyway do you guys think its feasible or so complex there would be no point?

Jayhawk Jake > Moose Kitty 05/07/2014 at 19:47

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Too complex. They would cost a crapload, be difficult to produce, offer little advantage, and holy unsprung weight batman!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Moose Kitty 05/07/2014 at 19:49

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The biggest issue I'm aware of, other than complexity failures, is that deformation forces likely wouldn't scale well. What I mean by that, is that any rolling body/wheel/etc. must deform along its contact patch, and the big advantage of the traditional tire, or even a radial over a bias ply, is that the deformation required doesn't increase horrendously with speed. Any information you have to put into making your drive surface deform is information you're wasting in the form of heat. If you've ever wondered why treaded vehicles tend to peak low in overall speed, you have your answer - a lot of weight having to change shape and direction constantly, and a non-round shape trying to become round at the expense of its intended movement path.

Which isn't to say this is as bad. In fact, as you increase in speed, it likely expands fairly linearly and approaches being the same "shape" as a typical round wheel. However, this would come at the expense of easily modeled suspension response and would likely map to effectively a much harder suspension at speed - not an unconditionally good thing. And, like I stated before, above a certain speed, any deformation losses you *did* experience likely would be harder to "soak" both mechanically and thermally than a typical tire. Lots of vibration would be likely, regardless of the type of damping, if it were to wear in any way unevenly.

Arguably, the best application for a thing such as this is on a mixed media semi-offroad surface at speeds not exceeding 50mph - that is, of course, assuming that that media will not clog the interface.

To further expand, some web/suspension within wheel designs like this have been built as far as proof of concept. None are really in manufacture. Another drawback is friction surface replacement, of course...

PS9 > Moose Kitty 05/07/2014 at 19:49

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Pros < Cons

There's no way a set of D wheels will be cheaper than the rubber/metal combo we go with today. Don't know about the durability of the constantly collapsing and expanding articulated arms, and I bet the manufacturer will eschew wheel repairs and just have you buy another set when it goes down. Another issue is what happens during a catastrophic failure? When a tire blows out, you still have some traction and control ability. I don't that would be the case if a negligent owner didn't do whatever maintenance this thing requires and loses a few spokes while going 70 on the Turnpike because of it.

Moose Kitty > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/07/2014 at 20:36

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I see your point. With these id use them more for heavier vehicles that would have better use with a larger contact patch, and not move faster than like 40 mph. Construction vehicles come to mind.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Moose Kitty 05/07/2014 at 21:49

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desertdog5051 > Moose Kitty 05/07/2014 at 22:15

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Don't try to reinvent the wheel.

Moose Kitty > desertdog5051 05/08/2014 at 00:51

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Hey if you read my first post i said there would be a lot of reinventing the wheel.