NASA Develops Unpuncturable Wheels, Now Available for Public Purchase
In an exciting development, a new type of tire known as the Superelastic Tire is set to revolutionise the automotive industry. This innovative design, initially developed by NASA for future Moon and Mars missions, is now being commercialised by Bridgestone for use on Earth.
The Superelastic Tire offers a unique advantage - it can be tailored to specific needs, providing greater flexibility in its design. Unlike conventional rubber tires, which can withstand strain of up to 0.5% before yielding, the Superelastic Tire can withstand strains of up to 10% and then revert to its initial shape.
This remarkable property is made possible by the use of shape memory alloys, primarily Nickel-Titanium (NiTi) and its derivatives, as its main load-bearing components. The Metl tire, another NASA innovation, uses a spring made from NiTinol, a remarkable nickel-titanium alloy.
The Metl tire has already been tested on Mars-like terrain at NASA's Glenn Research Center, demonstrating the ability to flex and recover from abuse that would shred traditional rubber tires. The tire offers traction equal or superior to conventional pneumatic tires and eliminates both the possibility of puncture failures and running "under-inflated", thereby improving automobile fuel efficiency and safety.
The SMART Tire Company is working to commercialize the Metl tire for consumer products, starting with a consumer cellular. Early backers have already signed up for the METLTM bicycle tire on Kickstarter and crowdfunding platforms.
NASA's technological advancements have often found their way into everyday life, leading to various inventions and improvements in various fields, such as memory foam, scratch-resistant lenses, and more. With the Superelastic Tire, we may soon see wheels that don't puncture, rebound from punishing strain, and can be tuned for different landscapes.
However, the road from rover prototypes to consumer products for the Metl tire is still long due to the expense of shape-memory alloys and the challenge of scaling the design. Tires must withstand not just rough terrain but also decades of weather, wear, and regulatory scrutiny before being ready for consumer use.
Stay tuned for daily updates on this exciting development. Subscribe to our website for the latest news on the Superelastic Tire and other groundbreaking innovations. This isn't the first time NASA has inspired a new generation of tires - let's see where this journey takes us!
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