Non-Pneumatic Tire Cavities for Irrigation Rut Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional self-propelled irrigation systems experience deep rut formation due to repetitive wheel paths, especially in zero-till or low-till planting practices, leading to excessive mud accumulation and inefficient field coverage.
Innovation Solution
The development of non-pneumatic tires with radially compressible tire bodies featuring circular arrays of hollow cavities and sloped outer surfaces, which self-clean by radially collapsing to expel mud and reduce rut formation through inward mud redirection during movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional tires are used on drive towers, then the irrigation system can move over the field, but deep ruts form in the ground due to repetitive wheel paths
Solution Approach 1:
The tire is divided into multiple circumferential segments or lobes separated by hollow cavities, allowing each segment to independently contact the ground. This segmentation enables the tire to conform to ground irregularities and distribute load more evenly, reducing rut formation while maintaining mobility.
Solution Approach 2:
The tire incorporates hollow cavities that allow the tire body to dynamically deform and adapt to ground conditions during rotation. The flexible, non-rigid structure enables the tire to self-adjust its contact pattern, preventing repetitive tracking and reducing rut depth.
2Strength
If conventional solid tires are used, then structural strength is maintained, but mud accumulates on the tire surface
Solution Approach 1:
The tire incorporates hollow cavities and a porous-like internal structure that allows mud and debris to pass through or be shed from the tire surface. This porous configuration prevents mud accumulation while maintaining sufficient structural strength for load-bearing operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible tire body with hollow cavities dynamically deforms during rotation, creating shedding action that prevents mud from adhering to the tire surface. The continuous deformation and relaxation cycles help dislodge accumulated mud, keeping the tire surface cleaner.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the tire body is made resiliently radially-compressible with hollow cavities, then rut formation is reduced, but tire structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tire uses a flexible shell structure with integrated hollow cavities, eliminating the need for rigid internal support structures. This flexible shell design achieves rut reduction through natural deformation while keeping the overall structure relatively simple and manufacturable.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow cavities serve multiple functions simultaneously: they provide structural flexibility for rut reduction, enable mud shedding, and potentially reduce tire weight. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional components, offsetting the apparent complexity increase.
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 tires effectively mitigate rut formation and mud accumulation, enhancing field coverage and wear-life by self-cleaning and automatically filling under the tire, reducing the depth of wheel tracks.
Implementation Method 1
the tire body is configured to undergo full radial collapse of the width dimension of each hollow cavity, at least at a narrowest point of said hollow cavity where said width dimension is at a minimum in an uncollapsed state of the hollow cavity, during movement of said cavity through a ground-contacting bottom segment of a circular rotational path of the tire
Implementation Method 2
a resiliently radially-compressible tire body having an outer circumference spanning circumferentially around a central rotational axis on which said tire body is rotatable
Data Source
AI summary
A non-pneumatic tire for a wheeled tower of an in-field irrigation system has a circular array of hollow cavities within the tire body. In cross-sectional planes lying normally of the rotational axis, each cavity has a circumferentially elongated cross-section of greater circumferential length than radial width. Bulbous and concavely rounded terminuses of each cavity impart a dumbbell shaped cavity profile that omits stress failure points. The cavity width tapers in an axially inward direction toward a midplane of the tire, where the cavity width is narrowest. In use, collapse of the cavity at its narrow midpoint squeezes accumulate mud out from the cavities in self-cleaning fashion. The outer circumference of the tire features sloped areas whose axial measure decreases toward the midplane. In use of the tire, the sloped areas draw mud inwardly toward the midplane and self-fill the ground beneath the tire, and thereby lessening overall rut formation.