Deployable Turbine Wheel Braking to Reduce Brake Wear
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle wheels with mechanical braking devices suffer from wear and tear, necessitating a solution to reduce braking device wear while maintaining effective and safe braking.
Innovation Solution
A wheel design featuring a wheel hub unit with a stator and rotor, integrated with a power absorbing turbomachine comprising vanes that can be deployed to form compressor blades, creating drag and facilitating braking without mechanical contact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mechanical braking devices with contact parts are used, then effective braking is achieved, but wear of braking components increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical contact braking system with an aerodynamic braking system. The turbine brake uses the relative motion between the wheel and ambient air to generate braking force through a turbine mechanism, eliminating the need for mechanical contact between braking components. This substitution reduces wear while maintaining braking effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes aerodynamic forces (a subset of pneumatic principles) by directing air flow through turbine vanes to generate braking torque. The air stream interacts with the turbine blades to produce rotational resistance, providing a non-contact braking mechanism that avoids mechanical wear.
2Duration of action of moving object
If aerodynamic drag is used for braking, then mechanical wear is reduced, but drag on the vehicle increases
Solution Approach 1:
The turbine brake vanes are designed to be rotatable relative to the wheel, allowing the braking configuration to be dynamically adjusted. The vanes can rotate between a braking position (where they engage the air stream for maximum drag) and a retracted position (where they minimize drag). This dynamic adjustment enables the system to provide braking force only when needed while minimizing parasitic drag during normal vehicle operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The braking action is applied periodically or intermittently rather than continuously. The turbine brake is engaged only when braking is required, and the vanes are retracted during normal cruising to minimize drag. This periodic engagement pattern reduces the overall impact of aerodynamic drag on vehicle performance while maintaining effective braking capability when needed.
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 solution reduces wear on braking devices by using aerodynamic drag to slow the vehicle, thereby minimizing mechanical stress and extending component lifespan while ensuring safe and effective braking.
Implementation Method 1
the vanes are arranged to form an array of compressor blades adapted to compress an air stream along the rotation axis during vehicle operation, thereby resulting in drag on the vehicle
Implementation Method 2
a power absorbing turbomachine comprising vanes, and a deployment mechanism configured to move the vanes between a deployed configuration in which the vanes are arranged to form an array of compressor blades adapted to compress an air stream along the rotation axis when the wheel is rotating, thereby resulting in drag on the vehicle
Data Source
AI summary
A wheel for a vehicle includes a wheel hub unit comprising, in turn, a stator portion to be coupled to a body of the vehicle by means of suspensions, a rotor portion and supporting means supporting the rotor portion on the stator portion in a rotatable manner about a rotation axis, a plurality of blades for a power absorbing turbomachine, and a deployment mechanism carried by a portion between the rotor portion and the stator portion and configured to conduct the blades between a deployed configuration, in which the blades are arranged so as to form an array of compressor blades adapted to compress an air flow along the rotation axis during the use of the vehicle, thereby resulting in a drag on the vehicle, and a rest configuration, in which the blades result in less drag on the vehicle than the deployed configuration.