Elastostatic contact model of rubber-coated truck wheels loaded to the ground

The solid wheels often foundonindustrial trucksmaybe subject to failure of the wheels’rubber coating under certain load conditions. To date, there has been no adequate analyticalmodel to predict these conditions and the design of these wheels has been based on costlytrial and error. In this work, an elastostatic analytical model is developed, which describes theinteraction of the wheel with the rigid ground in terms of relative approach, contact width,and contact pressure for a given load applied to the wheel. This model has been validated bycomparison with both experimental measurements and finite-element analyses, showing strongagreement for all three parameters. The results of the proposed model are more accurate thanthose of previous analytical models reported in the literature for rubber-coated rotary equipment.The new model can be used to design against creep or excessive deformation of the wheel coating.