Title: Tyre/road interaction model for the prediction of road texture influence on rolling resistance

Authors: Stijn Boere; Ines Lopez Arteaga; Ard Kuijpers; Henk Nijmeijer

Addresses: Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands ' Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands; KTH Royal Institute of Technology, The Marcus Wallenberg Laboratory for Sound and Vibration Research, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden ' M+P - Consulting Engineers, P.O. Box 2094, 5260 CB Vught, The Netherlands ' Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Abstract: A novel modelling approach to predict the influence of road texture on the rolling resistance of car tyres is presented where the large static tyre deformations and the small texture induced tyre vibrations are treated separately. The energy dissipation due to the large continuous cyclic deformation of the tyre cross section for a treadless tyre subject to nominal load on a smooth road is determined in a non-linear steady-state rolling analysis on an FEM tyre model. The additional energy dissipation resulting from the contact forces and tyre vibrations due to the combined effect of the tread profile and the road texture, are determined based on a modal representation of the deformed tyre. The predicted rolling resistance coefficients are compared to experimental data. Although an offset in the absolute rolling resistance levels can be observed, the model predicts the correct trend regarding the increase of rolling resistance with increasing texture depth.

Keywords: rolling resistance; tyre-road interaction; vehicle vibration; interaction modelling; road texture; surface roughness; vehicle tyres; tyre deformation; energy dissipation; FEM; finite element method; tyre tread profile.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.2014.060815

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 2014 Vol.65 No.2/3, pp.202 - 221

Published online: 30 Oct 2014 *

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