What is the steel ring in the middle of a tire?
1 Answers
The steel ring inside the tire is called the wheel hub. The wheel hub and the tire together form the wheel, which collectively supports the vehicle. Currently, the commonly used materials for wheel hubs are steel wheel hubs and aluminum alloy wheel hubs. The main advantages of steel wheel hubs are their simple manufacturing process (usually using casting technology), relatively low cost, and strong resistance to metal fatigue. However, steel wheel hubs also have relatively prominent disadvantages, such as unattractive appearance, heavy weight, high inertial resistance, poor heat dissipation, and being prone to rust. Steel wheel hubs are typically found in low-end vehicle models. Alloy wheel hubs are divided into aluminum alloy wheel hubs and magnesium alloy wheel hubs, with alloy wheel hubs being standard in high-end vehicle models. Aluminum alloy wheel hubs are primarily made of aluminum, with appropriate additions of metals such as manganese, magnesium, chromium, and titanium. Compared to steel wheel hubs, they are lighter in weight and have better heat dissipation, which can extend tire life. Magnesium alloy is an alloy with magnesium as the base and other elements added. Its characteristics include low density, high specific strength, high specific elastic modulus, good heat dissipation, excellent vibration damping, better ability to withstand impact loads than aluminum alloy, minimal deformation at high speeds, low inertial resistance, which helps improve the vehicle's straight-line driving performance, reduces tire rolling resistance, and thereby decreases fuel consumption.
