Take-Apart Wheels for High Mobility Military Applications 880694
Take-Apart wheels are an integral part of several systems designed to provide enhanced mobility for Army pneumatic tired vehicles. They provide the ability to insert devices into the tire cavity for runflat capability or beadlocks to prevent tire bead unseating when operated at the low inflation pressures necessary for soft soil floatation.
The difference between a Take-Apart wheel and the more common multi-piece, lock ring and gutter style of wheel is that it is a bolt-together type of wheel. This allows repeated assembly/disassembly with common hand tools. It also provides a means of axially compressing the tire beads against a beadlocking device which simulates an air pressure sufficient to prevent bead unseating under low or no inflation pressure.
In order to be able to insert either runflat or beadlock devices into the tire cavity, the tire must be of a tubeless type. This requires the two rim halves of the Take-Apart wheel to be sealed to prevent air loss. Several types have been utilized experimentally, but the easiest and least expensive has been found to be the common O-Ring type of seal.
