Analysis of the Tire-Pavement Contact Stress Characteristics during Vehicle Maneuvering

The vehicle maneuvering condition plays an important role in the analysis of the contact stress characteristics of the tire-pavement interaction. A reliable three-dimensional (3D) tire-pavement interaction model was developed to simulate the interface contact stress at static and various rolling conditions (free rolling, acceleration and braking). First, the 205-55-R16 radial tire was modeled accurately comprised of its special pattern and materials in the finite element software ABAQUS. Next, we analyzed and compared these contact stress characteristics, including the distribution of contact stress, the peak contact stress and the variation of stress with time at free rolling, acceleration and braking conditions. Results showed that under the same vehicle load and inflation pressure, the tire-pavement contact stresses at free rolling condition are always much larger than those at static loading condition. At acceleration condition, the peak contact stress occurs at the inner edge of the tire outermost ribs. At deceleration condition, the stress concentration on the tire tread is weakened with the extension of time. The peak contact stress increases with time at acceleration and braking conditions. But the peak contact stress at braking is much larger than that at acceleration condition under the same load and inflation pressure.