Study of the pressure distribution on an aircraft tire-wheel interface

The pressure distribution at the tire-wheel interface is not presently well understood, despite the need for using this load distribution to design fail-safe wheels. To investigate this boundary condition, methodologies for accurately measuring the distribution were investigated using an F-16 main wheel subjected to the inflationpressure condition. A purely experimental approach using piezoelectric film measured the interface pressure at eight discrete points in the tubewell, beadseat, and flange regions of the wheel. A hybrid technique used the experimental method of holographic interferometry to measure the wheel displacements and a three-dimensional finite element method was used to backcalculate the pressure distribution based on these experimental displacements. A comparison of the two methodologies is given. Areas of high stress are determined and discussed with respect to ensuring a fail-safe design.