Wheel Mounting Structure for Brake Cooling With Lower Air Drag
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Solution Overview
Problem
The outflow of air from the inside to the outside of a vehicle wheel disturbs the side flow, increasing air resistance and reducing fuel efficiency or electricity consumption.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle wheel structure with a wheel mounting member featuring fins and a weir portion that are designed to block and redirect air flow, using a resin material, to suppress the outflow and minimize air resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If fins are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the rim to enable air flow from inside to outside of the wheel, then air circulation is improved, but air resistance increases due to disturbance of side flow
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel mounting member is divided into multiple functional segments: fins for air intake, weir portion for flow control, and outlet structures. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each component's function while managing the overall air flow pattern to reduce side flow disturbance
Solution Approach 2:
The wheel mounting member acts as an intermediary device between the wheel rim and the external environment. It mediates the air flow by providing controlled pathways through fins and weir portions, preventing uncontrolled outflow that would disturb side flow, while still enabling necessary air circulation for brake cooling
2Temperature
If air flows out from the inside to the outside of the wheel, then cooling effect is enhanced, but side flow is disturbed causing increased air resistance
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the wheel mounting member have different functions: fins at the inner peripheral surface for air intake, weir portions for flow direction control, and specific outlet positions. This local differentiation allows cooling air to be extracted from specific locations while maintaining smooth side flow in other regions
Solution Approach 2:
The air flow is managed in multiple dimensions: axial direction for intake through fins, radial direction for passage through the wheel mounting member, and circumferential direction for outlet positioning. This multi-dimensional flow management enables cooling while minimizing interference with the primarily circumferential side flow
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 structure effectively reduces air resistance by suppressing the outflow of air, thereby improving fuel efficiency and electricity consumption.
Implementation Method 1
The angle may be set according to a rotation speed of the wheel mounting member that generates a pressure for causing the air to flow out of the vehicle due to a centrifugal force generated by rotation
Data Source
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AI summary
A vehicle wheel structure (10) includes a wheel (11) and a wheel mounting member (13) configured to be mounted on the wheel (11). The wheel mounting member (13) includes a body portion (131) that is fixed to an inner peripheral surface of an annular rim (112), the annular rim (112) forming the wheel (11) and supporting a tire (12) on an outer peripheral surface of the annular rim (112), fins (132, 133) that are extended along an axial direction (DL) of the body portion (131) on an inner peripheral surface of the body portion (131), and a weir portion (134) that is extended on the inner peripheral surface of the body portion (131) along a circumferential direction of the body portion (131) to block air flowing along the axial direction (DL) in a state in which the wheel mounting member (13) is mounted on the wheel (11) and rotates together with the wheel (11).