Coefficient of friction for rolling wheels

AI Thread Summary
Wheels roll on a surface through the interaction of friction, which is essential for forward motion without slipping. An ideal Coefficient of Friction allows for maximum power transmission while minimizing energy losses due to rolling resistance, which is caused by the deformation of the wheel and ground. If friction is too low, wheels will spin without moving forward, while excessive friction leads to power losses. The optimal Coefficient of Friction balances these factors to achieve effective acceleration and deceleration. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for designing efficient rolling systems.
RKD89
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I have fairly basic questions.

How do wheels roll on a surface ? As in what should be the ideal Coefficient of Friction between the wheel surface and the ground, for conditions like "no-slips"

What I understand is if there is no friction between the wheels and the ground , the wheels would keep spinning with slips ( wheel won't have forward motion , will have pure rotational motion )
On the other hand if there is significant friction between the wheels and the ground , there will be power losses due to friction ie the frictional forces would try to retard a wheels rolling motion .

So how do you transmit max power to wheels , without the wheels spinning and without having too much friction losses , what should be the optimum Coefficient of Friction?

Guys Please correct me if my concepts/understanding is wrong
 
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Hi RKD89! :smile:
RKD89 said:
… what should be the ideal Coefficient of Friction between the wheel surface and the ground, for conditions like "no-slips"

What I understand is if there is no friction between the wheels and the ground , the wheels would keep spinning with slips ( wheel won't have forward motion , will have pure rotational motion )
On the other hand if there is significant friction between the wheels and the ground , there will be power losses due to friction ie the frictional forces would try to retard a wheels rolling motion .

So how do you transmit max power to wheels , without the wheels spinning and without having too much friction losses , what should be the optimum Coefficient of Friction?

for motion in a straight line, the lower the coefficient of friction, the lower the acceleration (or deceleration) that will be possible before slipping

friction itself does not cause any loss of energy

the energy loss is caused by "rolling resistance", which is basically the deformation of the wheel and the road
 
Thanks

Everything makes sense if you assume contact between Wheel and ground to be a point ( 2D)
 
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