Metallic Bending-Band Wheel for Extreme Cold Soft-Ground Mobility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing non-pneumatic wheels fail to provide adequate load-bearing capacity, shock absorption, and durability in extreme conditions like those on the Moon and Mars, particularly in permanently shadowed regions with temperatures below -220°C.
Innovation Solution
A deformable wheel with a flexible all-metal tread and radial reinforcements, featuring a metallic core with triangular undulations and circumferential springs, designed to maintain flexibility at low temperatures without heating, and connected to the hub by metal cables or springs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If elastomeric interlayers are used in the laminated tread to maintain flexibility, then the wheel can deform to conform to soft ground, but the wheel fails to operate in permanently shadowed regions with temperatures below -220°C
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material composition of the tread from elastomeric interlayers to metallic layers with specific physical properties. The metallic layers have a coefficient of thermal expansion between 5×10^-6 and 15×10^-6 per °C and maintain flexibility at temperatures as low as -250°C, enabling operation in permanently shadowed regions while retaining ground-conforming deformability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite metallic structures in the tread, combining multiple metallic layers with different properties. This includes a support layer with higher elastic modulus and a deformable layer with lower elastic modulus, creating a composite material that maintains both structural integrity and flexibility at extreme low temperatures.
2Strength
If the tread is made rigid to support load, then load-bearing capacity increases, but the wheel cannot deform to conform to soft ground surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the metallic tread into multiple concentric metallic layers with different functions. The inner support layer provides load-bearing capacity with higher elastic modulus, while the outer deformable layer enables ground conforming with lower elastic modulus. This segmentation allows both rigid load support and flexible deformation.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the tread have different mechanical properties. The support layer has higher elastic modulus for load bearing, while the deformable layer has lower elastic modulus for ground conforming. This local differentiation of material properties resolves the contradiction between rigidity and flexibility.
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 wheel maintains mobility on soft ground by conforming to the surface and supports vehicles in extreme temperatures, ensuring load-bearing and shock absorption without air pressure, suitable for lunar and Martian environments.
Implementation Method 1
When the wheel is under an externally applied load, the portion of the metallic layers in contact with the ground deforms, not into an essentially circular shape, but into a shape conforming to the ground surface
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of circumferential springs (16) allowing the tread to deform in bending
Implementation Method 3
a plurality of radial reinforcements radially connecting the hub to the tread
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a deformable wheel (2) with non-pneumatic load support intended to equip a vehicle for driving in extreme conditions such as those encountered on the moon and on Mars, comprising a hub (4), an annular tread (6) positioned around the hub and having an outer surface intended to be in contact with the ground by being able to deform under a load applied from the outside to conform to the ground surface, and a plurality of radial reinforcements (8) connecting the tread to the hub, the tread being a flexural strip comprising a metallic core (10) provided with a plurality of corrugations (12) sandwiched between a ferrule (14) and a plurality of circumferential springs (16) allowing the tread to be able to deform in bending.