Study of the dynamic performance of rolling non-pneumatic tires using finite element method

Although non-pneumatic tires are puncture safe, the discontinuity of their supporting structures causes a serious vibration problem which impede the further development of non-pneumatic tires. Aiming at solving the vibration problem of non-pneumatic tires, this study conducted research on the original and optimized tire after bionic design of the non-pneumatic tire. Firstly, the original tire model was used to explore the influence of the changes in the spoke meshing size on the vibration results. Secondly, a simulation analysis was carried out on the two tires, and the vibration and grounding characteristics of the two tires were studied when traversing the obstacles. The results showed that a refinement of the meshes would reduce the vertical fluctuations and decrease the amplitudes. Furthermore, the increase in speed and obstacle height when traversing the obstacles would aggravate the vertical and longitudinal vibration of the tires; the optimization effect of the optimized tire was reflected in the relatively small changes in vibration when the speed and obstacle height changed; and the standard deviation of the grounding pressure peaks can to a certain extent explain the vibration intensification and improvement of the optimized tire as compared to the original tire. The obstacle-traversing vibration analysis of non-pneumatic tires lays a certain theoretical foundation for understanding the future dynamic characteristics of non-pneumatic tires, which is of great significance for improving vehicle performance.