Parametric analysis of various design factors on characteristic performance of Non-Pneumatic Tyres

Abstract

Non-pneumatic tires (NPTs) have emerged as a promising alternative to conventional pneumatic tires. In this study, a systematic parametric analysis was conducted to assess the influence of various design factors, including cell size, cell wall thickness, cell round radius, and spoke band thickness on the performance of NPTs. The Taguchi method, in conjunction with ANOVA, was employed to leverage the design of experiments (DOE) approach for identifying optimal settings for the examined factors. This investigation on sets revealed that both cell size and cell round radius have a significant impact on the mechanical performance of NPT. Specifically, cell size was shown to significantly affect the deformation and strain, with respective contributions of 48.74% and 45.16%. Meanwhile, cell round radius exhibited a substantial impact on the von Mises stress and strain energy, with respective contributions of 44.02% and 45.30%. Moreover, spoke band thickness was observed to significantly influence the mass of airless tires, with a contribution of 44.75%. The findings of this study furnish valuable insights into the design and optimization of NPTs for diverse applications.