November Meeting: Development of a Non-Pneumatic Wheel | AIChE

November Meeting: Development of a Non-Pneumatic Wheel

Tuesday, November 12, 2013, 9:00am EST
In-Person / Local
Greenville, SC
United States

A non-pneumatic wheel or Tweel®, meaning the integration of the tire and wheel, is a recent invention of engineers at Michelin Research in Greenville, SC. This talk examines the characteristics of the pneumatic tire that have made it so successful and unchallenged for the last 125 years. A non-pneumatic structure is proposed that exhibits the same critical characteristics as the pneumatic tire. Additional benefits, challenges, and applications will be discussed.

The talk will be presented by Tim Rhyne, Michelin researcher, and adjunct professor at Clemson University ICAR (International Center for Automotive Research). Tim is a runner and car enthusiast and has received four best paper awards from the Tire Society and is an associate editor for the journal, Tire Science and Technology. He was honored to give the plenary lecture for the Tire Society Conference. Tim holds numerous patents in tire technology and has published many papers on tire related subjects.