Hydroplaning of Tires: A Review of Numerical Modeling and Novel Sensing Methods

Abstract

Abstract In this article, previous literature on tire hydroplaning has been reviewed, especially focusing on real-time estimation methodologies and numerical modeling of the partial and total hydroplaning phenomenon. Hydroplaning is a challenging problem for the passenger car tire industry. The current active safety features that equip the most technologically advanced passenger cars cannot predict and prevent the occurrence of the hydroplaning phenomenon. Hydroplaning is a complex phenomenon that depends on a multitude of factors. The total hydroplaning is a phenomenon which occurs when the tire is no longer capable of evacuating the water from the grooves, resulting in total loss of control of the motor vehicle. This represents a situation where the entire contact patch is lifted from the ground to the layer of water that was formed on the road. However, the reduction of the contact between the tire and the road surface is progressive, this situation being called partial hydroplaning. The threshold speed between the partial and total hydroplaning is called the critical hydroplaning speed. These concepts are universally accepted by every researcher in the hydroplaning field, however in our literature review we discovered that the detection of the critical hydroplaning speed threshold varies from one experimental investigation to another.