Starting and rolling resistance of wheels and castors
When starting and continuing to roll, mechanical resistance must be overcome by push and compressive forces. These are called starting resistance and rolling resistance. They can be explained as follows:
The starting resistance must be overcome in order to set a stationary wheel into rolling motion.
The rolling resistance must be overcome in order to keep a rolling wheel moving at a constant speed.
The level of resistance depends on the following factors:
- Wheel bearing
- Wheel material
- Wheel diameter
- Load
- Tread profile
- Castor offset
- Floor condition
- Temperature
- Elasticity
Each individual factor contributes to whether a piece of equipment can be moved easily or with difficulty. In low load ranges, rolling resistance is usually negligible; starting and rolling resistance only become extremely important selection criteria in the medium-load and heavy-duty ranges.
Below you can see the diagrams 2.0 “Rolling resistance of wheel bearings" and 2.1 “Rolling resistance of wheel materials". Here we show you clearly the two factors with the greatest influence on the level of rolling resistance.