Experimental investigation of pneumatic tire performance on ice: Part 2 – Outdoor study

Abstract

The concept of ‘Lab to the Road’ is very challenging, especially for tire operation on ice. The changing ambient and ice conditions necessitate the need for robust engineering for the safety of vehicles on icy roads. Test method has a direct effect in measuring tire behavior on ice, with differences in the test setup and ability to maintain constant test conditions. The purpose of design for each test method also varies; certain test methods are designed to understand absolute tire performance, as compared to studying relative tire performance. This paper examines the performance of tires on ice through field tests conducted at the Keweenaw Research Center. Part-1 (Bhoopalam et al., 2015) presented a detailed indoor test program conducted on the Terramechanics Rig at the Advanced Vehicle Dynamics Laboratory, Virginia Tech, including the ice preparation procedure, test method, and test results. The two tests procedures were performed to understand how each test method influences the test results. A comparison of the laboratory (Bhoopalam et al., 2015) and field test method is also presented in this paper, with reasons for the differences in the measured values presented.