Tread Wear and Footprint Geometrical Characters of Truck Bus Radial Tires

Wear and mileage performance are the foremost performances for truck bus radial (TBR) tires. There are a lot of researches about the tire wear performance as well as the contact patch phenomenon by using finite element analysis (FEA) method or testing. But there is little published data on the correlations between the footprint geometry and the tread wear performance of tires. In this paper, an experiment on tire-ground performance of TBR tires is carried out by using Tekscan. The real-time changes of contact-area pressure distribution that occurred during the process of continuous load and unload are recorded. Three types of tires that act differently in behavior under normal usage are analyzed. A new method of researching in tire tread wear, which focuses on the geometrical characters of the footprint, is put forward. The experimental results of the three tires are described by using footprint geometrical characters. On the basis of studying the changing laws of footprint geometrical characters during the loading process and considering consumer survey and factory feedback information, the correlations between the geometrical character of footprints and tread destruction form are built. The analyzed results show that a greater contact area coefficient and a steady coefficient of contact result in a better wear performance for TBR tires. The footprint-shape coefficient changing laws in the process of loading are found to have a very good coincidence with the tread wear of the three types of tires. Tires with a smaller footprint-shape coefficient are likely to have an average tread wear while avoiding the shoulder wear first. The proposed research provides a new solution to predict tire-ground performance at the point of footprint and several useful references for improving tire design.

Finite Element Simulation of Radial Tire Building and Shaping Processes Using an Elasto-Viscoplastic Model

The comprehensive tire building and shaping processes are investigated through the finite element method(FEM)in this article.The mechanical properties of the uncured rubber from different tire components are investigated through cyclic loading-unloading experiments under different strain rates.Based on the experiments,an elastoviscoplastic constitutive model is adopted to describe themechanical behaviors of the uncured rubber.The distinct mechanical properties,including the stress level,hysteresis and residual strain,of the uncured rubber can all be well characterized.The whole tire building process(including component winding,rubber bladder inflation,component stitching and carcass band folding-back)and the shaping process are simulated using this constitutive model.The simulated green tire profile is in good agreement with the actual profile obtained through 3D scanning.The deformation and stress of the rubber components and the cord reinforcements during production can be obtained fromthe FE simulation,which is helpful for judging the rationality of the tire construction design.Finally,the influence of the parameter“drum width”is investigated,and the simulated result is found to be consistent with the experimental observations,which verifies the effectiveness of the simulation.The established simulation strategy provides some guiding significance for the improvement of tire design parameters and the elimination of tire production defects.

New Method for Monitoring Tire Pressure of Cars Based on the Tire Radial Deformation

Monitoring tire pressure of cars and signaling abnormal conditions is an important means to prevent deadly accidents. Large achievements have been gained, especially in direct tire pressure monitoring system（TPMS）. But there has been rarely research on indirect TPMS in the world. In China, the research on indirect TPMS is almost lacking. The international research on the indirect monitoring tire pressure method is mainly based on measuring and comparing the rotating speed of wheels. But it is very difficult to measure wheel rotating speed accurately because of the influence of many random factors. In this paper, the authors propose a new method in which the tire pressure can be monitored indirectly. This method can be used for tire calibration, wheel speed frequency standardization, wheel speed frequency comparison, and abnormal tire pressure determination. The pulse frequencies from wheel speed sensors of ABS are used to indicate tire deformation. Because the frequency has a relationship with tire deformation, the tire deformation reflects the tire pressure. Small sample statistics is used in the new method to increase the accuracy, and the experimental samples using the principle of the new method have been made and tested. The result of vehicle tests on road demonstrates that the method is efficient and accurate to monitor tire pressure. The research has positive potential for developing products.

Prediction of Burst Pressure of a Radial Truck Tire Using Finite Element Analysis

This paper is concerned with the numerical prediction of the burst pressure of a radial truck tire. Even though relatively rare, the tire fracture or failure brings up a big accident. Especially, the tire burst or rupture is a rapid loss of inflation pressure of a truck and bus tire leading to an explosion. The tire burst pressure, under this extreme loading condition, can be predicted by identifying the pressure at which the cord breaking force of the composite materials is attained. Recently, the use of finite element analysis in tire optimal design has become widely popular. In order to determine the burst pressure of a radial truck tire, an axisymmetric finite element model has been developed using a commercial finite element code with rebar element. The numerical result shows that the bead wire among the various layers modeled the rebar element breaks off first in the radial truck tire. The finite element modeling with the rebar element on the bead wire of a radial truck tire is able to well predict the tire burst pressure identifying the pressure at which the breaking force of steel bead wires is reached. The model predictions of tire burst pressure should be correlated with test data, in which case the tire is hydro-tested to destruction. The effect of the design change with the different bead structure on the tire burst pressure is discussed.

Basic Properties of Pyrolysis Carbon Black of Waste Tyres and Application of Pyrolysis Carbon Black in Transition Layer Rubber of All Steel Radial Tire

The main chemical composition of pyrolysis carbon black of waste tires is C,O,Cu,Zn and so on.The content of ash and fine powder in pyrolysis carbon black is high,and the 300%elongation stress is high.The difference between pyrolysis carbon black and furnace black N326,which is commonly used in rubber,is obvious compared with chemical property.The pyrolysis carbon black was used to replace furnace black N326 in the transition layer of all steel load Radial tire rubber through experimental study.It was found that the compression heat generation and dynamic loss(Tanδ)of the blend rubber before and after aging were obviously reduced,the elongation at break and resilience increased,while the tensile stress and tear strength decreased by 100%and 300%,but the hardness and tensile strength changed little before and after aging.According to the latest raw material price calculation,15 used tire pyrolysis carbon black instead of furnace carbon black N326 used in all steel Radial tire transition layer rubber application,excluding labor costs,electricity and equipment depreciation,a ton of blended rubber saves about$22.86 in production costs.