Systematic tests for study of tire tractive performance on soft soil: Part I – Experimental data collection

Abstract

Tire performance over soft soil is of interest for automotive and geotechnical engineers; the automotive engineers are mainly interested in tire tractive performance, and geotechnical engineers are concerned with the effects of the traffic brought by the tire to the soil. This two-part paper documents a series of tire and soil tests (Part I) and the application of their test data to the study of tire tractive performance over soft soil (characterized by drawbar pull) and to the model parameterization (Part II). Part I of this paper details the series of tests that are comprised of static tire deflection tests, static tire-soil tests, soil properties tests, and dynamic tire-soil tests, and describes the influence of tire inflation pressure or soil compaction level on the test data. The experimental approach presented herein produces parameterization and validation data that can be used in tire off-road traction dynamics modeling and terramechanics modeling.