Experimental validation of a tire mechanical model with contact pressure- and slip velocity-dependent friction coefficient

Abstract

In this study, a new tire mechanical model is proposed for the calculation of longitudinal stress distribution, taking into account the dependence of the friction coefficient on contact pressure and sliding speed. In the proposed model, the contact shape and contact pressure distribution are calculated based on the elliptical contact patch tire model. In the calculation of longitudinal stress in the adhesion range, not only longitudinal deformation in length direction caused by slip ratio but also nonlinear longitudinal deformation in width direction caused by tread radius was taken into account. The coefficient of friction in the sliding region was deduced from the viscoelasticity of rubber based on Persson's multiscale friction theory. Since the proposed model analytically links the longitudinal force of tire to the viscoelasticity of tread rubber, it can be applied to the design of rubber compounds to achieve the desired braking and driving characteristics. The validity of the proposed model was experimentally verified using an inside drum tester with the road surface segments equipped with a quartz piezoelectric sensor. The results show that with appropriate parameter settings, the model-calculated longitudinal stress distribution is in good agreement with the experimental results.