Composite Wheel Rim With L-Shaped Insert for Impact Load Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Composite wheels with metallic rims face structural integrity issues under high and sudden axial or radial loads, leading to tire deflation and potential vehicle control loss, with existing designs requiring full rim replacement due to damage and lack of easily replaceable elements, and undetected damage posing safety risks.
Innovation Solution
A rim design featuring a barrel with radially outward flanges and axially inward bead seats, incorporating pre-formed inserts that absorb and dissipate energy, increase hoop stiffness, and are easier to manufacture, with a polymer matrix binding structural fibres and inserts, forming an 'L' shape in cross-section to enhance structural integrity and reduce manufacturing complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If composite wheel rims are used to reduce weight, then weight is reduced, but structural integrity under high and sudden axial or radial loads deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The rim is constructed from composite materials including fibre-reinforced plastics and fibre composite materials, combining lightweight properties with enhanced structural strength. The composite structure allows the rim to maintain low weight while resisting high and sudden axial or radial loads through the synergistic properties of the fibre reinforcement and polymer matrix.
2Strength
If inserts are added to improve structural integrity, then strength under high loads is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rim is divided into modular components including the barrel, flanges, bead seats, and removable inserts. This segmentation allows the inserts to be independently designed, positioned, and replaced, improving structural integrity at critical locations without requiring complex integration throughout the entire rim structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The inserts are designed as separate, removable elements that can be extracted from the rim structure. This extraction principle allows the inserts to be independently manufactured and positioned at optimal locations to enhance structural integrity, while also enabling easy replacement if damage occurs, thereby managing overall device complexity.
3Reliability
If damage occurs to the rim, then safety is compromised, but ease of repair deteriorates because the entire rim must be replaced
Solution Approach 1:
The rim is segmented into the main rim body and separate removable inserts. This segmentation enables selective replacement of only the damaged insert component rather than the entire rim, significantly improving ease of repair while maintaining safety. The damaged insert can be identified and replaced independently, reducing repair time and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The design allows for the discarding of damaged inserts and recovery/replacement with new or refurbished inserts. This approach enables economical repair by replacing only the affected component rather than the entire rim structure, improving both ease of repair and cost-effectiveness while maintaining wheel safety through timely replacement of damaged elements.
4Ease of manufacture
If traditional integral rim design is used, then manufacturing is simpler, but adaptability to different load conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The inserts are extracted as separate components from the integral rim structure, allowing them to be independently designed and optimized for specific load conditions. This extraction maintains relative manufacturing simplicity of the main rim body while enabling adaptability through the selection and positioning of different insert types for different application requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The rim design with removable inserts provides universality by allowing the same basic rim structure to accommodate different insert configurations for various load conditions and applications. The inserts can be selected and positioned to optimize performance for different vehicle types and operating conditions, enhancing adaptability without requiring completely different rim designs.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design reduces the propensity for damage from high loads, maintains lightweight structure, performs comparably in mechanical tests, and is more cost-effective and easier to manufacture, with improved resin injection consistency and reduced surface porosity, enhancing safety and performance in high-performance vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
the barrel, and first and second flanges, comprise layers of structural fibres bound in a polymer matrix
Implementation Method 2
the insert comprises a material which acts to absorb and/or deflect and/or dissipate energy from a load or impact applied axially and/or radially to a rim
Data Source
AI summary
Herein is disclosed a rim for a wheel. the rim comprising a barrel having first and second flanges extending radially outward from opposing edges of the barrel. and the barrel comprising a first bead seat and a second bead seat arranged axially inwardly. respectively. of the first and second flanges, wherein the barrel, and first and second flanges. comprise layers of structural fibres bound in a polymer matrix, wherein a pre-form insert is disposed between layers of the structural fibres. wherein the insert comprises a material which acts to absorb and/or deflect and/or dissipate energy from a load or impact applied axially and/or radially to a rim and/or acts to increase the hoop stiffness of the wheel and wherein the insert has, when viewed in cross-section (with the axis of the rim being parallel to the plane of the cross-section). two elongate portions. with a first elongate portion of the insert extending into one of the first or second flanges. and a second elongate portion of the insert extending underneath the first or second bead seat, respectively, such that first and second portions together form an approximate ‘L’ shape in cross-section.