A Numerical Analysis of the Working Machine Tyre Inflation Process to Ensure Operator Safety

Tyre replacement and inflation is a common occurrence in the transportation, construction and mining industries, but in commercial, off-highway, or earth-moving vehicles, the rupture of an inflated tyre can cause serious or even fatal injuries to an operator. This paper highlights the consequences of a burst tyre based on a real case. The presented analytical approach is based upon an assumed adiabatic process and continuum mechanics using Bernoulli's flow equations. A numerical analysis of a tyre burst was performed using multibody and finite element methods to reconstruct the fatal accident. It was shown that tyre-blast injuries may lead to lethal head trauma and bodily injuries, since the potential energy stored in large, over-pressured tyres can exceed 1 MJ.