A team at the DLSU Gokongwei College of Engineering (GCOE) has embarked on the development of airless wheels, a pioneering and interdisciplinary project on design, material science, and computational modeling for sustainable transport for urban commuters and farmers.

With the rapid transformation of cities in the Philippines, micromobility solutions like e-scooters have offered affordable and green last-mile connectivity. A component of these alternative transportation systems, however, is proving to be a big challenge to owners and operators, as well as the industry at large.  

“A hidden flaw is costing the entire industry millions: the tire. Pneumatic tires are great until they get flat, leading to constant downtime and high repair costs, eating into up to 14% of operational revenue,” says Dr. Aristotle Ubando, full professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Gokongwei College of Engineering. 

Ubando, who is also GCOE Assistant Dean for Research and Advanced Studies and concurrent project lead of the SWIFT Project (Sustainable Wheels for Innovative Future Transport), is pioneering the airless tires revolution with his team, deploying mechanical metamaterials—intricate geometric structures engineered through additive manufacturing (3D printing). 

Envisioning the complete replacement of pressurized air in tires, initially in e-scooters, he admits, though: “We are stuck in an engineering paradox between durability and dynamics. The fixed, hard solid tires are jarring and uncomfortable, dangerously lacking the traction needed for rider safety.”

The metamaterial breakthrough

The core of the SWIFT innovation is the auxetic metamaterial structure. This means that in the new design, the geometry of a precise, tailored lattice replaces the function of air. This approach delivers the puncture-proof reliability of a solid tire while offering the comfortable performance and tunable stiffness of air. The shock absorption and strength come entirely from the shape and configuration of the unit cells, not from internal pressure.

Ubando shares that the research leverages the advanced capabilities of the Thermomechanical Analysis Laboratory (TALA) at the DLSU Laguna Campus, which houses five supercomputers. This computational power enables students and faculty to use topology optimization and engineering software to design and refine complex, three-dimensional metamaterial unit cells to withstand real-world stress distributions.

A holistic R&D ecosystem

The SWIFT Project, funded by the DOST Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD), operates on a highly collaborative model. Key partners include the MIRDC Additive Manufacturing Center (AMCen), the Philippine Rubber Research Institute (PRRI) based in Mindanao, and the DLSU Central Instrumentation Facility (CIF) Fab Lab. 

For its part, AMCen provides prototyping capabilities for the near-commercialized airless tire, including complex threading and rim design. PRRI’s role is to assess the positive impact of the airless tire on local rubber farmers and explore the incorporation of Philippine rubber into future material compositions, ensuring long-term sustainability and local economic benefit.

Meanwhile, the CIF Fab Lab, headed by Dr. Isidro Marfori III, handles a specialized testing machine to quantify the performance of the airless tire, measuring critical parameters like rolling resistance and stiffness.

This holistic R&D approach, which includes in-house 3D printing capabilities and collaboration with the DLSU Intellectual Property Office (DIPO) and Decision Science Institute (DSI) for market research, bridges the gap from ideation to commercial product.

The SWIFT Project is a cornerstone of the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s new Mobility Engineering program on the Laguna Campus. It provides an ideal research project for students, engaging both PhD and straight BS-MS honor students in real-world challenges. Engr. Niño Lim of the Department of Mechanical Engineering aided in the project management of SWIFT. Researchers like Engr. Diana Rose Coronado, who focuses on material composition, and Engr. Ariel Conversion, who focuses on topology optimization, are leading the charge, supported by BS-MS honors students such as Maxine Mallari and Heisei Mansanadez, who are immersed in computational design and prototyping.

With the initial project phase concluded, the team has successfully published findings, disclosed a patent application, and drafted a policy brief to promote additive manufacturing in the tire industry. 

Moving forward, the DLSU team, together with the project’s various stakeholders, will continue to push the industrialization of the airless tire technology, toward creating a sustainable solution that benefits the entire value chain, from rubber farmers to urban commuters, Ubando says.

SDG: 4, 9, 11, 12, 17