Wheel Design Research

I am a rising senior mechanical engineering student at the University of Evansville. I will be leading a team of engineering students to design a Rover for the NASA Human Mars Rover Challenge. The Rover is a human powered vehicle similar to a recumbent bike.

A major design area of this project is the wheel design section. We are tasked with designing the entire wheel except for the hub. This includes: tread, and structure/frame. I will be working on the wheel design portion of the project with another senior. What are some good sources to learn about wheel/tire design?

[I]Automobile Tyres[/I] by L.J.K. Setright should give you some good background.

For non-pneumatic tires I would study the long wearing urethanes. The long wearing properties of urethane made the skateboard wheel what it is today.

Call someone close that makes wheels: [url]http://www.skywaywheels.com/products_003.htm[/url]

This one's a bit old but hopefully can still help you out x

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