Abstract In the design of automotive wheels, safety is a crucial factor. Homologations, legislation and standards require severe impact tests before a new wheel can be released on the market. Impact tests are usually performed after the wheel has been already designed and the first prototypes have been produced. In case of test failure, significant delays and costs have to be sustained before the wheel can be actually produced. Numerical simulation of wheel impact tests can reduce the risk of test failure and be a valuable tool for the designer to obtain more efficient and light wheels.The paper deals with the full digitalization of the design process of road vehicle wheels. The aim is to reduce as much as possible indoor impact tests to assess wheel rim structural safety. The numerical simulation of impact tests is accomplished by complex finite element models comprising wheel, tyre and test rig structure. Several data can be required for the modelling of the tyre, which are not usually known to the wheel designer. In this paper, a method for the realization of finite element models of different impact tests is presented. By the proposed method, finite element models with a sufficient level of accuracy for the design of the wheel, at a relatively low computational cost, can be obtained by means of a well defined procedure. For tyre characterisation, only simple measurements related to geometrical features, stiffness and frequency response are required. The method is successfully applied to different impact tests such as radial impact tests with flat or V-shaped striker and 13∘ side impact test. For all the considered tests, experimental validations are performed on different wheels, instrumented with strain gauges located at the most stressed areas. The striker accelerations are also reproduced accurately. The method for the numerical simulation of indoor impact tests of road vehicle wheels enables the full digitalisation of design process, with relevant results in terms of ”time to market” reduction and structural safety assessment. The proposed method is useful not only to design wheel rims, but also to design pneumatic tyres.

中文翻译：

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道路车辆车轮冲击试验：一种综合的数值模拟方法

摘要 在汽车车轮的设计中，安全性是一个至关重要的因素。认证、立法和标准要求在新车轮投放市场之前进行严格的冲击测试。冲击试验通常在车轮设计完成并生产出第一个原型之后进行。在测试失败的情况下，在实际生产车轮之前必须承受严重的延迟和成本。车轮冲击试验的数值模拟可以降低试验失败的风险，是设计人员获得更高效、更轻的车轮的宝贵工具。本文研究了公路车辆车轮设计过程的全数字化。目的是尽可能减少室内冲击试验，以评估轮辋结构安全性。冲击试验的数值模拟是通过复杂的有限元模型完成的，包括车轮、轮胎和试验台结构。轮胎建模可能需要一些数据，而这些数据通常是车轮设计者所不知道的。本文提出了一种实现不同冲击试验有限元模型的方法。通过所提出的方法，可以通过明确定义的程序以相对较低的计算成本获得具有足够精度的车轮设计的有限元模型。对于轮胎表征，只需要与几何特征、刚度和频率响应相关的简单测量。该方法成功应用于不同的冲击试验，如扁平或V形撞针的径向冲击试验和13∘侧向冲击试验。对于所有考虑的测试，在不同的车轮上进行实验验证，并在应力最大的区域安装应变计。击球手的加速度也被准确再现。道路车辆车轮室内冲击试验数值模拟方法实现了设计过程的全数字化，在“上市时间”缩短和结构安全评估方面取得了相关结果。所提出的方法不仅可用于设计轮辋，还可用于设计充气轮胎。道路车辆车轮室内冲击试验数值模拟方法实现了设计过程的全数字化，在“上市时间”缩短和结构安全评估方面取得了相关结果。所提出的方法不仅可用于设计轮辋，还可用于设计充气轮胎。道路车辆车轮室内冲击试验数值模拟方法实现了设计过程的全数字化，在“上市时间”缩短和结构安全评估方面取得了相关结果。所提出的方法不仅可用于设计轮辋，还可用于设计充气轮胎。