Simplified mathematical modeling and parametric study on friction coefficient of rubber materials for vehicle's tire application

Abstract

AbstractThe properties of rubber have allowed it to be utilized across many different industries. One of the industries that use rubber is the tire industry. The rubber used in tires affects the performance of the vehicle such as its fuel consumption and safety. Hence, study on tire performance becomes important from different aspects. This study will look at the calculation of the friction coefficient of tire rubbers, which affects vehicle safety, based on studies conducted by different research groups. By combining different models, we suggest a new simple model to predict the friction coefficient. Several discussions in the article will be for validation of the model and its range of applications. We then implement a parametric analysis to determine which factors critically affect the friction coefficient. By finding the sensitivity of the inputs of the model/code, the critical factors can be identified and focused on. The parameters that are studied are the storage modulus, loss modulus, surface asperities heights, the surface asperities wavelength, and the adhesive contribution to friction. The adhesion and hysteresis contributions to the friction coefficient are also discussed in this article. It is shown that the adhesive contribution plays a large role in determining the friction coefficient.