Full-field contact dynamic mechanical properties of tread rubber material under rolling and slippery conditions based on digital image correlation

Abstract

The dynamic mechanical properties of rolling tire on special road surface were closely related to the vehicle’s handling stability, driving safety and braking effectiveness. The tire tread rubber material was the only contact part of the vehicle with the road surface, so the strain distribution characteristics of tread rubber material within the contact patch of rolling tire on thin water film pavement played a crucial role in the mechanical characteristics of vehicle. In this paper, a non-contact tire tread rubber rolling mechanical test system was developed. The improved digital image correlation (DIC) method was used to obtain the full-field strain distribution of tread rubber blocks. The effects of load and velocity on the strain rate of the marked points, the full-field strain distribution in the region of interest and rolling resistance were investigated under thin water film pavement. The experimental results were compared with dry condition to analyze the effect of water film on the rolling dynamic characteristics. The results showed that the strain rate increased first and then fluctuated under the action of thin water film. With the increase of speed and load, the full-field strain distribution of tread rubber contact patch was gradually occupied by low strain zone. The change rate of rolling resistance firstly increased and then decreased with the increase of rotational speed.