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  • 1.  Cycle of life: create technology for space, then bringing it back to earth (airless tires)

    Posted 04-09-2021 10:56
    Found this article about airless tires for bicycles and thought it was interesting (there is another one on engadget.com, as well). Many of us are familiar with the evolution of tire designs for the rovers. It is always exciting to see designs being applied in different ways, off and on earth.

    Here is a look on how metal wires can accommodate stress with the use of the superelastic ("springiness") behavior. 

    What do you think? Are there other designs you found interesting that are applied in a way not intended or evolved to make our day to day easier?

    Airless bike tires rely on a metal alloy designed for NASA rovers
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    Airless bike tires rely on a metal alloy designed for NASA rovers
    angle-left April 01, 2021Source: ASM International Inflatable rubber tires would not fare well on the surface of the Moon or Mars. The terrain is treacherous, and there's no one there to throw on a spare if you get a flat.
    View this on Asminternational >



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  • 2.  RE: Cycle of life: create technology for space, then bringing it back to earth (airless tires)

    Posted 04-12-2021 03:45

    It is highly probable that wire-based rover tires will suffer from abrasion (due to gravel between wires) while in bicycle tires will be friction between metallic wire and "Polyurethanium", followed by debonding. My sister had sport shoes with similar structure and they failed during 6 months.



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  • 3.  RE: Cycle of life: create technology for space, then bringing it back to earth (airless tires)

    Posted 04-13-2021 09:24
    I wonder if the Polyurethanium necessarily needs to be bonded to the metal surface. If it were to serve more like the traditional tire tube with a rubber tire fitted on top, it could potentially work. The tire would probably need some anti-abrasive protective layer on the inside though.

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