Numerical Simulation of New Generation Non-Pneumatic Tire (TWEEL™) and Sand

In order to have a better understanding of the performance of non-pneumatic tires (Tweel™) on soil and provide information for further optimization of this Tweel™, we model and simulate the interaction between Tweel™ and soil using finite element method (FEM). In this paper, the model of the Tweel™ is described in detail. The Tweel™ is treated as a deformable body. The Drucker-Prager/Cap plasticity constitutive law with hardening is employed to model sand. The material properties of Lebanon sand found in New Hampshire that has a complete set of material properties in the literature is used. Numerical results show deformation of sand and Tweel™. The stress distributions in sand, Tweel™, and along the interface between them are also presented. We next illustrate how this interaction model can be used to develop new tractive solutions for lunar exploration and terrestrial travel over dry soil.