0.~TheEngineering~ Resource For~ Advancing Mobility 400COMMONWEALTH DRIVEWARRENDALE, PA15096 820810 Advances inTruckRim Technology CharlesB.Watkins HowardUniv. Washington, DC StevenW.Blate Firestone SteeiProducts Co. Akron,OH Passenger CarMeeting Troy,Michigan June7-10,1982Downloaded from SAE International by University of New South Wales, Sunday, August 19, 2018Theappearance ofthecodeatthebottomofthefirstpageofthispaperindicates SAE'sconsentthatcopiesofthepapermaybemadeforpersonal orinternaluse,or forthepersonal orinternaluseofspecificclients.Thisconsentisgivenonthecon­ dition,however, thatthecopierpaythestatedperarticlecopyfeethroughthe Copyright Clearance Center,Inc.,Operations Center, 21Congress St.,Salem,MA 01970forcopyingbeyondthatpermitted bySections 107or108oftheU.S.Copyright Law.Thisconsentdoesnotextendtootherkindsofcopyingsuchascopyingfor generaldistribution, foradvertising orpromotional purposes, forcreatingnewcollec­ tiveworks,orforresale. Paperspublished priorto1978mayalsobecopiedataperpaperfeeof$2.50under theabovestatedconditions. SAEroutinely stocksprintedpapersforaperiodofthreeyearsfollowing dateof publication. DirectyourorderstoSAEOrderDepartment. Toobtainquantity reprintrates,permission toreprintatechnical paperorper­ missiontousecopyrighted SAEpUblications inotherworks,contacttheSAEPublica­ tionsDivision. ISSN0148-7191 Copyright 1982SocietyofAutomotive Engineers, Inc.Downloaded from SAE International by University of New South Wales, Sunday, August 19, 2018820810 Advances inTruckRim Technology CharlesB.Watkins HowardUniv. Washington, DCStevenW.Blate Firestone SteelProducts Co. Akron.OH ABSTRACT Thecurrent stateoftheartintruck \.;rheeltechnology isrevieHed Hithparticular emphasis onrims. Thesalient designfeatures ofbothsingle andmultipiece rimtypesare described andthesafetyofbothtypesinthe context offieldperformance isexplored. Some aspects ofcontemporary design methodology are discussed andpossible futuredirections for thetechnology areforecast. THETRUCKtVHEELisanessential andcritical element ofthetrucking transportation system on'\Vhichthenation's commerce depends. In viewoftheimportance oftruckwheeltechno­ logy,suprisingly little onthissubject has appeared inthetechnical literature. A~ong thefewpapers toaddress thistopicarethe excellent recent monograph byKinstler (1)* andanearlier, relatively briefpaperby Bradley (2). Thefocusofthepresent paperisonde­ scribing current wheeltechnology fortrucks, trailers, andbuseswithparticular emphasis outhepresent stateoftheartinrimdesign. Someattention isalsogiventothesafetyof thetechnology inthecontext offieldper­ formance. Fromahistorical perspective themodern truckwheelistheculmination ofanevolu­ tionary process thathasspanned mostofthis century. Thisdevelopment istraced byKinstler anddescribed inmoredetailinothersources (3,4). Astudyofthehistory ofwheeldevelop­ mentreveals thatmajorchanges inwheelshave comeaboutlargely asaresultoftheimpetus supplied byevolVing tiretechnology. Thisis stilltruetodayinasmuch as,ingeneral, the controlling factors forthedesignofavehicle wheelarethecharacteristics ofthetireselected forapplication tothevehicle design. Thisdesignincludes considerations oftheloads imparted tothewheelduetotireinflation and roadforces. Theprimary functions oftherimportion ofa truckwheelaretofirmlysecure thetiretothe periphery ofthewheelandtotransfer loading fromtheroadtotheHhee1center. TheHheel center onatruckwheelmaybeapermanently attached (totherim)discorademountable spoke type,whichclampsinplaceontoabevelpro­ videdontherim.Nanyaspects ofwheeldesign arepeculiar tothetypeofmounting systemfor Hhichthe'''heelisbeingdesigned andmanyare alsoancillary tothedesignoftherimitself. Theseaspects Hillnotbetreated within the scopeofthepresent discussion. Therearetwomajortypesoftire-rim combi­ nations usedondomestic truck-type commercial vehicles. Thesearemu1tipiece r~mswithtube­ typetiresandsinglepiecerimswithtubeless tires. Several variations ofthetwodifferent typesofri