Topological Optimization of Mining Vehicle Tyre

Abstract

Commercial tyres that are specifically designed for higher speed and on-highway tarred road conditions are currently being used on lightweight underground mining utility vehicles. This is due to there being no alternative tyres that are readily available to better suite the application and environment. This research calls attention to the side effects of using commercial tyres in mining environments. As a result, a model-based systems engineering approach is used to design a more appropriate tyre for this environment. Airless tires have been a focus area for many top tyre manufacturing companies however the criteria and focus of existing papers has predominantly been on commercial tyres that follow a completely different set of design rules and requirements. In this research a topologically optimised tyre that better conforms with the design parameters of the vehicle, is proposed and analysed. A computational aided design (CAD) model of a commercial pneumatic tyre and a foam filled tyre was created. Data from a typical mining vehicle of this class was captured and used to calculate the mechanics as inputs to the finite element model (FEM) including driveshaft effects. This model is then statically analyses and optimised over various iterations of topologies. The iteration stopping criteria is reduced stresses on drivetrain components and being able to accommodate a greater payload. This research provides a proof of concept on the feasibly of replacing standard commercial pneumatic or foam filled tyres with purpose designed airless tyres to better serve the mining market whilst retaining original equipment manufacturer vehicle design parameters. From the results it was found that these tyres can meet the loading requirements as specified given the resultant deflections, reduced stresses and reduced polar second moment area on the driveshaft component (s).