Reinventing the wheel – the airless tire

"We definitely brainstormed," says Foltz. "We wanted to create more of a matrix of cells within the tire, and it seemed kind of natural to go with the honeycomb's hexagon shape. We tried some other shapes, such as diamond shapes, and they didn't perform as well."

Adds Newman: "Now that we've done this, it's amazing to think that we were going from literally sketching designs on a piece of paper in June 2006 to having actual Humvees riding around on prototype tires in April 2008. In under two years, really functional tires were created."

Veihl says Resilient has developed into a full-service operation, with in-house facilities that can develop new materials and run them through a battery of physical and environmental tests. This month, the company is in the process of installing a massive flywheel device called an Akron Standard road wheel, which can inflict wear and tear on prototype tires, simulating hundreds of thousands of miles at interstate speeds.

But the UW-Madison experience is vital to the continuing project, Veihl says. The group holds weekly teleconferences and Osswald has spent time at the company providing high-level polymer course work for Resilient's engineers. Many of the same tests done in Wausau were done in parallel at UW-Madison to further validate outcomes.

"Number one, you have students who are fresh thinkers, they have no preconceived notion about what is the right answer or wrong answer," he says. "And (Osswald) has given us the ability to dive into a lot of things much more quickly, because he's seen so many things that we haven't in working with these materials."

With Foltz and Newman graduating, Osswald will continue the partnership with two new graduate students. One project will be to evaluate sidewall designs, which will give the tire a more conventional look.

Veihl shares a strong enthusiasm for the company and what it could mean to the Wisconsin economy. While the military application is the most urgent primary market, Veihl says the tire has potential for virtually any vehicle where a flat tire causes significant headaches. That includes ATVs, mining equipment, farm machinery and construction equipment. The passenger automobile industry may be on the horizon as well.

But right now, Veihl is concentrating on his customers at the National Guard, many of whom have seen tours of duty in Iraq and offer invaluable advice. "They will tell you the real deal, and they're not shy about it. If we can develop a product that satisfies their requirements, then we've done our job."

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