An optical tire contact pressure test bench

An optical tire contact pressure test bench developed by the IMMa group is described. The measurement system is based on the frustration of total internal reflection (FTIR) of light. The test bench allows performing normal pressure distribution and patch contact shape measurements on passenger car tires. The system is based on the use of a laterally illuminated glass on which the tire leans. Between them a plastic interphase is located that will cause the FTIR of light. A video camera catches the formed shining image through the glass. The brightness level in each pixel of the image can be related to the existing normal pressure. The study of the contact patch provided by the bench makes it possible to characterize tire behaviour under different loading states, inflation pressure, tire defects and toe and camber angles. The bench incorporates a computerized load and control system of the tire operation parameters, an image acquisition module and a data acquisition system that allow monitoring and acting on the experimental variables of interest in the tests such as load on the tire and environmental conditions. A supporting mechanical system incorporated to the bench allows providing the tire with variable toe and camber angles. From the images obtained with this system, the maximum normal pressure points, total force, size and shape of the patch can be determined, which are related to the tire-use conditions. As an application example, results that show the patch size and shape under different load and tire inflation pressures are presented. A further application, which is the use of the system for the detection and study of defective tires is also presented.     

Two-Dimensional Contact Area of a Pneumatic Tire Subjected to a Lateral Force

A mathematical model of a two-dimensional contact patch of pneumatic tires rolling over a rigid flat road surface at arbitrary slip and camber angles has been developed. The model is simple in concept, contains few parameters and is applicable to any tire simulation models. In addition to tire geometric parameters and vertical deflection, the carcass camber angle is introduced in the model. This angle is alone responsible for the asymmetric shape of the tire contact patch when the tire undergoes a lateral force. The computed contact patches agree well with the measured patches of an automotive tire at different slip and camber angles. Lastly, the influence of the contact patch geometry on the tire cornering and aligning properties has been discussed through a computational example. It has been shown that the effect of tire contact patch geometry on the steady state behavior is rather remarkable.     

Dynamic Properties of Motorcycle and Scooter Tires: Measurement and Comparison

Summary Results of an experimental research program dealing with motorcycle and scooter tires are presented. Experimental tests were carried out by means of a rotating disk test machine, which is particularly suited to test tires in the presence of large camber angles. First, the capabilities of the rotating disk machine are discussed and results are compared with the ones obtained by means of other test machines. Then the properties of several motorcycle and scooter tires are presented and compared. The advantage of presenting results in terms of camber and sideslip stiffness is highlighted. The effect of tire working conditions (inflation pressure, load and temperature) is analyzed. Finally the measurement of tire torques is discussed and some results dealing with self-aligning, twisting and rolling resistance torques are presented.     

A Versatile Flat Track Tire Testing Machine

Summary A flat track tire testing machine developed by the IMMa group is described. It permits the simulation and study of the dynamic behavior of a great variety of tires under controllable and repetitive highly dynamic realistic working conditions in the laboratory for a diversity of vehicles, from motorcycles to light trucks. The machine incorporates: – a hydraulically operated tire support and loading system with wide operating ranges; – a computer controlled brake system to simulate braking maneuvers with ABS systems; – a complete sensorial system; – a data acquisition and control system continually monitoring and acting on the experimental variables, i.e., tire and belt speed, longitudinal slip, slip and camber angles, tire pressure, tire normal force, etc. As an application example, results are presented that adjust the parameter of the magic formula for a standard 175/70 R14 passenger vehicle tire. Accurate mathematical tire models are recognized as essential for the prediction of vehicle dynamic performances using simulation tools.     

A Versatile Flat Track Tire Testing Machine

Summary A flat track tire testing machine developed by the IMMa group is described. It permits the simulation and study of the dynamic behavior of a great variety of tires under controllable and repetitive highly dynamic realistic working conditions in the laboratory for a diversity of vehicles, from motorcycles to light trucks. The machine incorporates: - a hydraulically operated tire support and loading system with wide operating ranges; - a computer controlled brake system to simulate braking maneuvers with ABS systems; - a complete sensorial system; - a data acquisition and control system continually monitoring and acting on the experimental variables, i.e., tire and belt speed, longitudinal slip, slip and camber angles, tire pressure, tire normal force, etc. As an application example, results are presented that adjust the parameter of the magic formula for a standard 175/70 R14 passenger vehicle tire. Accurate mathematical tire models are recognized as essential for the prediction of vehicle dynamic performances using simulation tools.     

Dynamic Properties of Motorcycle and Scooter Tires: Measurement and Comparison

Summary Results of an experimental research program dealing with motorcycle and scooter tires are presented. Experimental tests were carried out by means of a rotating disk test machine, which is particularly suited to test tires in the presence of large camber angles. First, the capabilities of the rotating disk machine are discussed and results are compared with the ones obtained by means of other test machines. Then the properties of several motorcycle and scooter tires are presented and compared. The advantage of presenting results in terms of camber and sideslip stiffness is highlighted. The effect of tire working conditions (inflation pressure, load and temperature) is analyzed. Finally the measurement of tire torques is discussed and some results dealing with self-aligning, twisting and rolling resistance torques are presented.     

轻型货车轮胎接地压力分布实测

利用自主开发的轮胎接地压力测试仪,进行了轻型货车不同花纹和不同使用年限轮胎,在不同轮胎胎压和不同负荷作用下,轮胎的接地压力分布规律测量。实测结果发现:轻型货车轮胎与路面的接触形状更接近于矩形;新胎比旧胎的接地压力要均匀些;轮胎胎压与平均接地压力、轮胎负荷与平均接地压力、轮胎负荷与有效接地面积基本上呈线性关系。     

Tire wear estimation based on nonlinear lateral dynamic of multi-axle steering vehicle

This paper presents a novel nonlinear dynamic model of a multi-axle steering vehicle to estimate the lateral wear amount of tires. Firstly, a 3DOF nonlinear vehicle dynamic model is developed, including dynamic models of the hydropneumatic suspension, tire, steering system and toe angle. The tire lateral wear model is then built and integrated into the developed vehicle model. Based on the comparison of experimental and simulation results, the nonlinear model is proved to be better than a linear model for the tire wear calculation. In addition, the effects of different initial toe angles on tire wear are analyzed. As simulation results shown, the impact of the dynamic toe angle on the tire wear is significant. The tire wear amount will be much larger than that caused by normal wear if the initial toe angle increases to 1° - 1.5°. The results also suggest that the proposed nonlinear model is of great importance in the design and optimazation of vehicle parameters in order to reduce the tire wear.     

Shear forces in the contact patch of a braked-racing tyre

This article identifies tyre modelling features that are fundamental to the accurate simulation of the shear forces in the contact patch of a steady-rolling, slipping and cambered racing tyre. The features investigated include contact patch shape, contact pressure distribution, carcass flexibility, rolling radius (RR) variations and friction coefficient. Using a previously described physical tyre model of modular nature, validated for static conditions, the influence of each feature on the shear forces generated is examined under different running conditions, including normal loads of 1500, 3000 and 4500 N, camber angles of 0° and?3°, and longitudinal slip ratios from 0 to?20%. Special attention is paid to heavy braking, in which context the aligning moment is of great interest in terms of its connection with the limit-handling feel. The results of the simulations reveal that true representations of the contact patch shape, carcass flexibility and lateral RR variation are essential for an accurate prediction of the distribution and the magnitude of the shear forces generated at the tread–road interface of the cambered tyre. Independent of the camber angle, the contact pressure distribution primarily influences the shear force distribution and the slip characteristics around the peak longitudinal force. At low brake-slip ratios, the friction coefficient affects the shear forces in terms of their distribution, while, at medium to high-slip ratios, the force magnitude is significantly affected. On the one hand, these findings help in the creation of efficient yet accurate tyre models. On the other hand, the research results allow improved understanding of how individual tyre components affect the generation of shear forces in the contact patch of a rolling and slipping tyre.     

The Mechanism of Camber Thrust Generation in a Bias-ply Motorcycle Tire

A finite element model suitable for camber thrust analysis is formed. By inclining and pressing this finite element model onto the road plane, the forces prevailing in the contact patch of an inclined standing tire are calculated and the asymmetry-dependent mechanism of camber thrust generation is analyzed. By rotating the inclined standing tire at a constant vertical deflection, the roll-distance-dependent mechanism of camber thrust generation is analyzed.     

Measurement of stress distributions in truck tyre contact patch in real rolling conditions

Stress distributions on three orthogonal directions have been measured across the contact patch of truck tyres using the complex measuring system that contains a transducer assembly with 30 sensing elements placed in the road surface. The measurements have been performed in straight line, in real rolling conditions. Software applications for calibration, data acquisition, and data processing were developed. The influence of changes in inflation pressure and rolling speed on the shapes and sizes of truck tyre contact patch has been shown. The shapes and magnitudes of normal, longitudinal, and lateral stress distributions, measured at low speed, have been presented and commented. The effect of wheel toe-in and camber on the stress distribution results was observed. The paper highlights the impact of the longitudinal tread ribs on the shear stress distributions. The ratios of stress distributions in the truck tyre contact patch have been computed and discussed.     

Simplified Analysis of Steady-State Turning Behaviour of Motor Vehicles Part 2: Stability of the Steady-State Turn∗

SUMMARY

A finite element model suitable for camber thrust analysis is formed. By inclining and pressing this finite element model onto the road plane, the forces prevailing in the contact patch of an inclined standing tire are calculated and the asymmetry-dependent mechanism of camber thrust generation is analyzed. By rotating the inclined standing tire at a constant vertical deflection, the roll-distance-dependent mechanism of camber thrust generation is analyzed.     

Development of a valve and optimization of a tube for self-inflating tire

Worldwide, the tire market requires safe and eco-friendly tires. In this study, a self-inflating tire (SIT) was studied and manufactured. Self-inflating tire refers to a technique for maintaining appropriate tire pressure. An internal regulator senses when tire inflation pressure has dropped below the set air pressure. The tire boosts air through the valve when rolling and compressed air enters into the tire. This procedure keeps the tire air pressure at an appropriate level and increases tire safety. In this study, a regulator was used as a negative-pressure system. A check valve was selected the minute flow check valve depending on the shape of the configured system. In addition, the material of the tube was developed with excellent physical properties and resistances (elastic rebound, working temperature, etc.) owing to its complete compression and restoration. A tube performance tester was developed and a computer aided engineering (CAE) model was modeled for comparison with the test results. Using the tester and model, it was possible to optimize the shape of the tube and regulator. Finally, the reliability of the study was verified through the prototype test. The developed equipment and systems can be used for the manufacture of high-performance and safe tires.     

基于图像识别轮胎变形的非接触式车辆称重方法

为了解决接触式车辆称重方法存在的安装和维修成本高、使用年限短、识别精度低等问题,创新性地提出一种基于计算机视觉获取轮胎变形的非接触式车重识别方法。首先,利用视频图像采集装置拍摄车辆轮胎图像信息,通过图像处理技术提取轮胎轮廓,并根据轮廓变形计算轮胎的垂向挠度。其次,通过胎压监测系统(TPMS)获取轮胎的真实胎压值,对于没有安装TPMS的车辆,则可以通过图像字符识别技术读取轮胎侧壁的胎压标识信息,再利用统计回归方式确定实际胎压值。在此基础上,将轮胎垂向挠度和胎压值代入推导的称重公式计算轮胎承受的重量,再将所有轮胎承受重量求和得到车辆总重量。最后,以现场的乘用车和重载货车为例,验证在不同胎压和重量变化下非接触式车辆称重方法的准确性,并对比分析3个称重公式的准确性。研究结果表明:车重识别准确率随着胎压增大而降低,随着车重增大而上升;轮胎刚度拟合公式的载重识别准确率达到95%以上,高于理论推导公式和半经验拟合公式。提出的非接触式车辆称重方法具有测量范围广、无需任何额外传感设备、不用封闭交通和易于信息集成等优势,有效地突破了现有接触式车重识别技术的瓶颈,具有很好的工程应用前景。     

基于车路系统的事故现场轮胎印迹强度参数化研究

为明确事故现场可视轮胎印迹强度与车辆动力学特性、轮胎橡胶磨损特征及道路表面灰度之间的关联特性,提出基于车路耦合的事故现场轮胎印迹强度参数化研究方法。通过结合动态滑动摩擦因数模型及轮胎非线性模型,建立车辆路面9 DOF非线性系统动力学模型,运用VBOX惯性测量技术验证模型的有效性。运用胎面磨损能量模型,从车路系统角度确定车辆、轮胎和路面特性对轮胎全局摩擦力及胎面磨损特性的影响。结合印迹强度特征模型提出轮胎印迹强度参数研究方法,选取不同制动、转向角工况及3组路面、胎面特性对轮胎路面接地力学特性、胎面橡胶磨损量、可视轮胎印迹特征进行仿真分析。结果表明：印迹强度仅与全局摩擦力大小有关,与轮胎路面滑移方向无关;滑移工况下胎面橡胶磨损量随着全局摩擦力和滑移速度的增大而增大,而印迹强度变化不明显;制动力矩和道路表面灰度对产生可视轮胎印迹起决定作用,转向角主要影响不规则可视轮胎印迹的产生;前轮轮胎最先出现可视印迹,且可视印迹长度和强度均高于后轮轮胎;采取可视印迹起点作为事故车辆速度判定具有一定的误差,应根据具体情况进行具体分析;研究成果能够为基于可视轮胎印迹的交通事故重建提供理论基础。     

动态载荷下轮胎侧偏特性的理论及试验研究

提出了在动载和时变印迹长度下轮胎的接触历程概念,导出了计算动载时轮胎接地印迹内各点接触历程的入迹方程,阐明轮胎动载侧偏力学特性建模机理,克服了动载侧偏特性理论建模的一个基本障碍,建立了考虑胎体平移弹性小幅动载时的理论模型,并提出了轮胎动载侧偏特性的半经验模型,进行了相应的试验研究,给出了试验结果与模型计算结果的比较。     

基于径向刚度法的车辆翻新轮胎使用寿命判定

为了有效判定车辆翻新轮胎的剩余使用寿命，需要科学确定废旧轮胎胎体橡胶老化程度对翻新轮胎使用寿命的影响。在分析废旧轮胎胎体橡胶老化规律的基础上，通过橡胶老化试验测试及回归分析，确定了胎体弹性模量随着橡胶老化年限增加近似线性增大的影响规律；结合计算机仿真技术及试验测试技术，基于轮胎径向刚度法提出了翻新轮胎剩余使用寿命不安全系数计算方法，其计算数值大小与翻新轮胎径向刚度和新轮胎径向刚度之差成正比，与新轮胎径向刚度值成反比；构建了由橡胶加速老化系统、弹性模量测取系统、承载-变形计算机模拟系统和承载-变形测试系统等组成的翻新轮胎剩余使用寿命判定系统；基于径向刚度法和判定系统提出了车辆翻新轮胎剩余使用寿命判定规则，确定了翻新轮胎胎体剩余使用寿命判定具体流程；根据剩余使用寿命不安全系数计算方法和判定规则，将翻新轮胎确定为可正常使用、需降速使用和需报废处理3个级别，并利用11.00R22.5载重车辆翻新轮胎进行了剩余使用寿命判定与评价，依据判定规则分别计算了不同使用年限3条翻新轮胎的剩余使用寿命不安全系数，确定出3条翻新轮胎所对应的级别，判定与评价结论与实际使用情况相吻合。研究结果表明：废旧轮胎胎体橡胶老化程度对翻新轮胎剩余使用寿命影响显著，翻新轮胎径向刚度与剩余使用寿命之间存在较大影响关系；废旧轮胎胎体橡胶老化程度越严重和径向刚度越大，翻新轮胎的剩余使用寿命将会越短。     

汽车轮胎侧偏特性影响因素的试验研究

应用轮胎静力学特性试验机，研究了低速条件下3种不同胎面花纹轮胎在干燥路面上的侧偏特性，主要分析了胎面花纹、轮胎负荷和轮胎气压等因素对轮胎侧偏特性的影响。结果表明：轮胎的Fy-α关系曲线形状与胎面花纹形式、轮胎负荷和胎压等均无关。而Mz-α关系曲线变化趋势与胎面花纹无关，却与轮胎负荷和气压有关；在相同试验条件下，顺向花纹轮胎具有更优异的附着性能和侧偏特性。     

Finite element modeling of static tire enveloping characteristics

To investigate static tire enveloping characteristics, a three dimensional (3-D) finite element model is proposed. The vertical stiffness of the tire is studied on a flat surface with and without cleat. Tire rubber materials and cord layers are represented independently using “rebar” elements available in MSC Marc Mentat. Comparisons of numerical and experimental results are given to show the validity of the proposed model. It is shown that after a certain displacement, the results of the proposed model agree well with experimental results. In addition, the model results show that regardless of the type of the cleat placed under the rim center (hub center), all vertical force curves intersect after a certain displacement, which indicates typical static enveloping characteristics. Moreover, another typical characteristic of the radial tires that is unlike those of bias-ply constructions confirms that the contact patch does not expand laterally after a level vertical load is applied to the tire, which is directly related to fuel consumption and tire tread life.     

Numerical method for simulating tire rolling noise by the concept of periodically exciting contact force

For the numerical simulation of tire rolling noise, an important subject is the extraction of normal velocity data of the tire surface that are essential for the acoustic analysis. In the current study, a concept of periodically exciting contact force is introduced to effectively extract the tire normal velocity data. The ground contact pressure within contact patch that is obtained by the static tire contact analysis is periodically applied to the whole tread surface of stationary tire. The periodically exciting contact forces are sequentially applied with a time delay corresponding to the tire rolling speed. The tire vibration is analyzed by the mode superposition in the frequency domain, and the acoustic analysis is performed by commercial BEM code. The proposed method is illustrated through the numerical experiment of 3-D smooth tire model and verified from the comparison with experiment, and furthermore the acoustical responses are investigated to the tire rolling speed.