Dual Wheel Hub Adapter for Stress Reduction and Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional dual wheel arrangements in commercial heavy trucks face issues such as high stress in the disc area leading to costly replacements, protruding studs causing fretting and corrosion, difficulty in alignment resulting in poor ride quality, excessive weight, misalignment, and restricted access to the inflation valve.
Innovation Solution
A dual wheel assembly using a common hub adapter with a central spacer portion that allows for coaxial mounting of dual wheels, reducing stud protrusion, enabling easier alignment and independent replacement of components, and providing improved access for inflation and maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional dual wheels are mounted directly to the hub with protruding studs, then the wheels can be secured to the hub, but high stresses occur in the disc area leading to costly replacements
Solution Approach 1:
A hub adapter is introduced as an intermediary component between the hub and the dual wheels. The adapter absorbs and distributes the mechanical stresses that would otherwise concentrate on the wheel discs, thereby reducing stress on the wheels and preventing costly replacements while maintaining secure attachment to the hub
2Strength
If studs protrude further from the hub to secure both wheel discs, then the wheels can be fastened, but fretting and corrosion occur between the two discs
Solution Approach 1:
The hub adapter serves as a mediator that eliminates direct contact between the protruding studs and the wheel discs. The adapter provides a mounting surface that secures the wheels without requiring studs to penetrate through both discs, thereby preventing fretting and corrosion between the discs while maintaining secure attachment
3Ease of manufacture
If two-piece bolt-together wheels are used with cast hub, then the wheels can be assembled, but the assembly is difficult to align properly resulting in poor ride quality
Solution Approach 1:
The hub adapter acts as a precision alignment intermediary between the cast hub and the two-piece wheels. It incorporates alignment features such as keyed slots or tapered surfaces that guide the wheels into proper alignment during assembly, eliminating the alignment difficulties associated with direct mounting to cast hubs while maintaining ease of assembly
4Strength
If excessive weight is used in the hub assembly, then structural integrity is maintained, but the overall assembly weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hub assembly is segmented into separate functional components: the original cast hub, the hub adapter, and the dual wheels. This segmentation allows the use of lighter materials for the adapter and wheels while maintaining structural integrity through proper design of the adapter's load-bearing features, thereby reducing overall assembly weight without compromising strength
Data Source
AI summary
A dual wheel assembly for a vehicle having a common hub adapter. The assembly includes an inner wheel having an inner rim; an outer wheel having an outer rim; and a hub portion having a central cylindrical portion disposed between first and second end face portions, wherein the inner rim is mounted to the first end portion, and the outer rim is mounted to the second end face portion. The assembly may further include radially spaced apart holes disposed on the central cylindrical portion, wherein the spaced apart holes have end openings on opposite sides thereof and first and second fasteners extending in opposite directions in an alternating arrangement from the first and second end portions of the hub portion. Each of the first fasteners extends through an end opening of a spaced apart hole and the inner rim, and each of the second fasteners extends through an end opening of a spaced apart hole and the outer rim.