A new non-contact method for calculating deformation resistance of tire tread rubber material under rolling condition

Abstract

Background70% energy consumption of automobile tyre comes from the energy consumption generated by the viscoelasticity of tread rubber.The non-contact calculation method of rolling resistance of tire tread rubber block is studied, and the relationship between rolling resistance and global strain is analyzed. Materials and methodsA non-contact test bench for mechanical property of rubber tread block is developed.Stress-strain relationship and full-field distribution characteristics are obtained by means of digital image correlation under the influence of load and velocity.A Fourier series model is proposed to describe the non-linear viscoelasticity of rubber material.The model parameters is identified by using non-linear least squares. On this basis, the rolling resistance and the rolling resistance coefficient are calculated. ResultsThe experimental results show that the nonlinear fitting error of Fourier series model is less than 3%.The rolling resistance coefficient of rubber tread decreases with the increase of speed and increases with the increase of wheel load.The low strain areas is distributed at the trailing edge of contact zone, but the high strain is distributed at the leading edge of contact zone. ConclusionA new method for calculating the rolling resistance of rubber materials is presented. The results show that the rolling resistance is positively correlated with the high strain distribution of tread under the influence of velocity. Under the influence of load, it is positively correlated with the transverse deformation of tread.