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"Tweel" Eliminates Tires, Wheels
Forget about flat tires. In fact, forget about tires all together with the new Michelin Tweel. Now being tested in low speed, low weight applications such as wheel chairs, scooters, ATVs and even skid steer loaders, the Tweel is showing promise. Initial work on larger vehicles including an Audi Sedan and military vehic
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"Tweel" Eliminates Tires, Wheels TIRES/WHEELS Miscellaneous 29-5-40 Forget about flat tires. In fact, forget about tires all together with the new Michelin Tweel. Now being tested in low speed, low weight applications such as wheel chairs, scooters, ATVs and even skid steer loaders, the Tweel is showing promise. Initial work on larger vehicles including an Audi Sedan and military vehicles has also been positive, says Lynn Mann, director of public relations, Michelin North America.
"The original idea was sparked by an engineer who made the comment during a presentation that if you reduced the load or speed enough, a zero pressure tire could run forever," says Mann. "That sparked interest in what would be needed to do that."
What was needed, it was determined, was a tire tread that provided suspension and contact with the ground and connection to the wheel hub for traction. What wasn't needed was the rigid wheel and tire, as we know it, with air and valve assemblies.
The Tweel consists of a composite reinforced tread band connected to a flexible wheel via rectangular polyurethane spokes. When the rubber tread band encounters a rock or obstacle, it flexes, as do the spokes. Displacing the spokes in one area has no effect on remaining spokes or wheel suspension. The combination of flexible tread wall and spokes provides weight carrying ability, shock absorption, ride comfort, rolling resistance and mass similar to pneumatic tires while adding suspension-like characteristics for improved handling.
The ability to continue functioning in difficult situations is one reason the Tweel is being looked at for military applications.
On a more practical note, Tweels give vehicles like skid steers the combined benefits of pneumatic tires and tracks. The flexibility ensures that the maximum tire surface remains in contact with the ground.
"We have had some success with passenger cars, but Tweels for them are still more than a decade away," she says.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Michelin Consumer Relations Dept., P.O. Box 19001, Greenville, S.C. 29602 (ph 800 847-3435; www.michelinman.com).
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