Tire Inflation Research Articles

Effects of short-term aging on the mechanical and structural performance of hot mix asphalt mixtures: a case study complemented by statistical analysis

This study aimed to assess the effects of short-term aging on the mechanical behaviour of asphalt layers of flexible pavement structures. The effects of aging on their mechanical performance have not yet been detailed, in terms of structural analyses. Therefore, pavement structures with distinct types of asphalt layers (non-aged and aged) were evaluated. Stability, tensile strength, resilient modulus, fatigue behaviour and permanent deformation or static creep were determined. The mePADS software was used to carry out structural analyses of the pavements, based on variations in the bound layers’ mechanical properties, loading level and tire inflation pressure. Horizontal stresses and strains were determined at the bottom of the binder course. Fatigue lives were predicted and discussed based on statistical analyses. The short-term aging enhanced the mechanical parameters, but adversely affected the fatigue life for the examined strain states, which reinforces the importance of carrying out the structural analyses.

An algorithm for estimating the ultimate speed of vehicles on wet roads

Real-time estimation of a vehicle’s ultimate hydroplaning speed is crucial for ensuring its safety and stability, especially in rainy weather conditions. This paper proposes an algorithm for estimating the ultimate hydroplaning speed of vehicles on wet and slippery road surfaces based on finite element analysis of tire. Using the ABAQUS simulation software, a finite element model of a 205/55 R16 radial tire is established. Subsequently, a fluid-structure coupling model between the tire, water layer, and road surface is developed. The finite element method is employed to simulate and analyze the effects of tire inflation pressure, water layer thickness, vertical load, and tread wear on the vehicle’s ultimate hydroplaning speed. Simulation results indicate that an increase in tire inflation pressure and vertical load leads to an increase in the ultimate hydroplaning speed, while tread wear and an increase in water layer thickness result in a decrease. Finally, based on the simulation analysis data, a BP neural network-based estimation algorithm for the vehicle’s ultimate hydroplaning speed is proposed by combining the relationship between tire inflation pressure, tire vertical load, tread wear, water layer thickness, and ultimate hydroplaning speed. The results show that the estimated ultimate hydroplaning velocity profile has a high degree of overlap with the actual ultimate hydroplaning velocity profile, with a maximum error of no more than 5 km/h and an average percentage error of 2.31416%.

Road conditions and driving patterns on fuel usage: Lessons from an emerging economy

Given its usage in freight and urban transportation, diesel supply is a major global issue. Diesel dependence and the urgency of the energy transition are normally addressed on the supply side by either expanding oil refineries or evaluating alternative fuels. Here we focus on the demand-side by examining how road pavement conditions and eco-driving practices affect diesel fuel consumption on highways. This can be particularly important in emerging countries, where road pavement is normally not well-managed and conserved. This analysis encompasses six scenarios for Brazil that vary in road conditions, driving cycles, and tire inflation states. Findings show a significant potential for annual diesel savings, reaching 4.52 billion liters, or 16% of fuel efficiency. A financial analysis indicates a positive return by the year 2037. Hence, this study emphasizes the need for a multidimensional approach to reduce fuel consumption and enhance environmental sustainability within the transportation sector of an emerging economy. While infrastructural improvements are crucial, their effectiveness is greatly amplified when paired with efforts in driver education.

Metamodeling on uncertainty quantification in the behavior of the tire/road interaction of vehicles

In recent years, the automotive industry has been developing applied research to meet customer’s needs; considering safety, vehicle comfort and energetic efficiency. In particular, automotive tires have a prominent position in this research area, ensuring good vehicle handling, comfort and safety. In the vehicle dynamics performance, excellent gripping and reduced rolling resistance in the tires are crucial to maximize the energetic efficiency in a reliable way. However, to ensure such a level of reliability in vehicle operation, the inherent uncertainties of tires, as well as other factors subject to variability must be taken into account in the vehicle design. In this way, the present paper analyzes in detail the effect of variations in some parameters such as ambient temperature, ground conditions, vertical load, speed and tire inflation on the analysis of vehicle dynamics. A Metamodeling approach associated with the Monte Carlo Simulation was employed to develop the mathematical models to analyze the effect of uncertain parameters on the tire rolling resistance; traction, centripetal and lateral forces, using experimental data from the literature, in the longitudinal and lateral vehicle dynamics. Therefore, the present research brings as an innovation an integrated approach to the input parameters of the system with the rolling resistance through the developed metamodels. There was a substantial variability of up to 15% both up and down in the Maximum Traction Force of a vehicle in response to variations in the vehicle’s weight and the coefficient of tire rolling resistance. In contrast, the Lateral Force exhibited a greater variability, with a 25 downward and 10% upward variation associated with the weight and friction coefficient variability of the vehicle. Further investigations into the sensitivity analysis highlight the significant influence of the friction coefficient and temperature on the Traction Forces of the vehicle.

Effects of vertical load and inflation pressure on tire-soil interaction on artificial soil

Instrumented single tire soil bin testing was conducted on a rigid surface and artificial soil by vertically loading a radial tire (LT235/75R15) to two tire vertical loads (6 kN and 8 kN) inflated to three levels of tire inflation pressure (179, 241, and 283 kPa). Lowering the tire inflation pressure by 37 % resulted in 26 % (6 kN vertical load) and 39 % (8 kN vertical load) greater contact lengths (P < 0.05). The 2-D contact area on artificial soil (initial bulk density of 1.51 Mg/m3) was significantly affected (P < 0.05) by tire inflation pressure for each load case. Increasing the load significantly affected the tire’s contact length on soil (P = 0.0010); however, tire inflation pressure did not significantly affect the contact length on soil (P = 0.0609). Soil rut depth and tire-soil deformed volume were not significantly affected by vertical load and tire inflation pressure. Measured tire contact area on soil surface was 3.3 times the contact area on the rigid surface, suggesting tire-soil interaction interface properties on deformable soil are better than using the gross flat plate for evaluating low ground pressure tire technology effects on traction and reducing soil compaction.

Method of calculating the pressure on the soil of wheeled tractors

The market of tractors in Russia has changed greatly in recent years. A number of new suppliers have appeared on the market, abandoned brands are replaced for Russian analogues and machines from friendly countries. It is hard to evaluate all the quantitative and qualitative diversity of tractors provided to agricultural producers through the system of machine tests, especially considering that every manufacturer has a large number of standard size ranges of power equipment. Nevertheless, the customer should have access to information about the basic consumer properties and the degree of effectiveness of a particular machine unit. The article provides a computational method for evaluating one of the most important functional indicators of tractors, namely, the level of impact of its wheels on the soil, using limited initial information: technical characteristics and operational documentation of the manufacturer. The algorithm given in the text was approved during testing real tractor samples. Insignificant differences in the assessment of the maximum pressure on the soil, obtained as a result of measurements and calculations (the difference is 1.9-3.3 %) indicate a high degree of reliability of the developed methodology, as well as the possibility of its application in engineering practice to evaluate the functional indicators of tractors, including taking into account changes in their size and mass parameters when equipped with ballast weights, agricultural machines, implements, dual tires, etc. To make calculations, it is enough to know the weight of the tractor, the weight of ballast loads (mounted implements), the size of the installed tires, their static radius and the amount of tire inflation pressure. The methodology will significantly improve the quality of the predictive assessment of the level of impact on the soil of both mass-produced and designed tractor equipment.

An economic appraisal of the effect of tire inflation pressure for alternative tillage systems on a silty clay loam soil

AbstractCompacting soil has an adverse effect on soil properties, decreases crop productivity, and subsequently reduces farm income. Low tire inflation pressure (LTP) help in managing soil compaction and protecting the soil environment; however, there is scant economic data available on LTP in US Midwest farming systems. Hence, a 3‐year study investigated the effects of LTP, compared to tires inflated to the standard tire inflation pressure systems, on crop yield and farm economy for a typical maize/soybean rotation. The effect of the two tire inflation pressure systems was factorialized with three tillage systems: deep tillage (DT, 450 mm), shallow tillage (ST, 100 mm), and no‐till systems. The results showed that LTP systems increased maize (Zea mays) yield by 4.51% (2017) and 2.70% (2018) and soybean (Glycine max) by 3.70% in 2018. Annual earnings for both 200‐ and 800‐ha farms increased for all tillage systems with LTP tires based on a partial budget analysis. The payback periods for LTP tires were very short, ranging from 0.32 years for DT on an 800‐ha farm to 1.18 years for ST on a 200‐ha farm. The net present value of the higher returns with LTP tires was substantial, especially for the DT system. This study shows a strong economic benefit from investments in LTP tires on silty clay loam soils in the US Midwest.

A Study on the Contact Characteristics of Tires-Roads Based on Pressure-Sensitive Film Technology.

Tire-road characteristics are a critical focus of research in the automotive and transportation industries. On the one hand, the research can help optimize tires' structural design; on the other hand, it can analyze the mechanical response of the pavement structure under the vehicle load. In addition, the non-uniformity distribution of the tire ground stress will also have a direct impact on the skid resistance, which determines the driving safety. Due to the limitation of testing technology, the measurement of tire ground pressure was mainly carried out on a flat test platform, ignoring the roughness of the actual pavement surface texture. The tire-road contact characteristics research on the macro-texture and micro-texture of asphalt pavement needs to be broken through. A high-precision pressure-sensitive film measurement system is utilized to examine the actual contact characteristics between two types of automobile tires and three types of asphalt pavement in this paper. The influence law of pavement texture and patterned tires on the contact area and stress was explored, and the concentration effect of tire-road contact stress was evaluated. The results indicate that the contact area of grounding tires exhibits a nearly linear relationship with tire inflation pressure and load. Notably, the change in load has a more significant influence on the contact area than tire inflation pressure. On asphalt pavement, the contact reduction rate decreases by approximately 5-10% for block pattern tires and 10-15% for longitudinal pattern tires. Furthermore, as the texture depth of the pavement increases, the contact area between tires and the pavement texture decreases. The actual tire-road interface experiences significant stress concentration due to the embedding and meshing effects between the tire and road surface. Even on a flat steel surface, the peak stress at the edge of the tread block exceeds the 0.7 MPa design load, which is about 2.5-3 times higher than the design uniform load. The peak stress between the tire and asphalt pavement reaches 4-10 times the design uniform load, with a rising trend as the pavement texture depth increases. This study can provide relevant experimental technical support for tire design and functional design of asphalt pavement.

The tyre blow-out vehicle lateral pulling control using an active suspension system with comfort-lateral trajectory based control scheme.

When a tyre blows out, the vehicle’s trajectory deviates from the intended path, resulting in an accident and death. Because of its larger contact patch, applying more steering force to the flat tyre will cause the tyre to separate from the wheel. Also, improper braking effort causes rollover related issues due to the sudden vehicle’s centre of gravity (C.G.) displacement and weight transfer towards the blow-out tyre. Therefore, this research attempts to return the C.G. to its initial position through the suspension control. The force supplied between the sprung and unsprung masses of the flat tyre through suspension actuator is estimated and controlled by the model predictive control (MPC) scheme with respect to its input signals. For the non-linear simulation, the four-wheel passenger car vehicle dynamic model and the combined empirical model for the tyre inflation pressure effect are used. And the equivalent plant model is identified through a simple system identification method for the MPC design. The passive and active based suspension of standalone, roll-resistant interconnected and pitch-resistant interconnected systems, including the proposed comfort-lateral trajectory controlled standalone active suspension, were examined. To assess the effectiveness of each suspension and its control strategy in a tyre blow-out scenario, a vehicle was analysed with various longitudinal velocities along with and without steer input.

Effect of Tire Inflation Pressure and Wheel Front Toe Angle on Fuel Consumption of a Light-Duty Vehicle

Effect of Tire Inflation Pressure and Wheel Front Toe Angle on Fuel Consumption of a Light-Duty Vehicle

Impact of camber angle on the tire tread behaviour in different road conditions

The camber angle is one of the wheel alignment properties that is crucial as a slight change to the orientation of the camber angle determines the lifespan of a tire. The stress distribution on the innermost of a tire increase as the positive camber angle is increased, and vice versa, which causes the abnormal uneven premature wear of the tire. This research is done with the main objectives to simulate the performance of tires concerning the camber angle by using the finite element analysis method, and to study the influence of camber angle on different tire tread patterns under two different road conditions, i.e., smooth road and irregular road. Three tire models with different tire tread patterns and two different road conditions are developed using SolidWorks while the investigation of each tire performance is done through ANSYS under static condition in this research. Tire inflation analysis is performed using static structural analysis feature available in ANSYS where the total deformation and equivalent stress are determined based on the specific vertical load applied onto the tire, ignoring any damping effects and inertia. Boundary conditions and other relevant constraints are applied, and then mesh independent test is carried out to all tire models prior to performing the simulation. Based on the simulation results, the maximum total deformation increases as the camber angle increases in both road conditions, while the maximum equivalent stress does not show any trend. It is concluded that tire tread pattern influences the maximum equivalent stress experienced by the tire.

Improved Vehicle Longitudinal Velocity Estimation Using Accelerometer Based Intelligent Tire

ABSTRACT An intelligent tire–based algorithm was developed to reinforce the vehicle longitudinal velocity estimation, from the vehicle inertial measurement unit (IMU). A tire was instrumented using a triaxis accelerometer (intelligent tire) in an instrumented vehicle with an IMU, and a global positioning system (GPS) based speed sensor (VBOX) as the ground truth for vehicle velocity. A testing matrix was developed, including two tire inflation pressures, two normal loads, and variable speed between 4 m/s to 14 m/s. A signal processing algorithm was developed to analyze the data from the accelerometer. Variational mode decomposition and Hilbert spectrum analysis were used for extracting features from each tire revolution. Later, a machine learning algorithm was trained to estimate the velocity using the acceleration data from the intelligent tire. Because the sampling rates of the IMU data and the intelligent tire data were different, sensor fusion was implemented. This calculated velocity was then used to correct the IMU-based estimated velocity. This new velocity can be used to enhance the performance of all advanced chassis control systems, such as anti-lock braking system (ABS) and electronic stability program (ESP).

Influence of Pressure on Tire Wear of Mining Dump Truck

The article shows the dependence of ground pressure on the number of wheels and tire inflation pressure for dump trucks, the dependence of tire pressure, tire deformation and contact patch length on tire inflation pressure and tire temperature. Currently, some of the dump trucks in Russian quarries are operated in off-road conditions on soils with low bearing capacity. Work on weak soils requires the use of vehicles with high crosscountry ability and low specific pressure on the ground. One way to improve off-road mobility is to use articulated dump trucks.

Numerical Simulations of the Driving Process of a Wheeled Machine Tire on a Snow-Covered Road

Wheeled machines, such as agricultural tractors, snowplows, and wheeled mobile robots, usually work on icy or snow-covered roads. Therefore, it is very important to study the driving and slip resistance of the tires of these machines. In this paper, we investigate the driving behavior of tires on snow-covered terrain by means of numerical simulations. A high-fidelity snow-covered road model is established, and smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and the finite element method (FEM) are employed to account for the behaviors of the snow layers and the pavement, respectively. We use the node-to-surface algorithm for the contact interactions between the snow and the pavement. The SPH parameters for the snow are calibrated by means of a triaxial compression experiment. A simplified tire model is established as well, using the FEM, and the effectiveness of the model is demonstrated via comparisons with the experimental data in terms of stiffness. Finally, the tire driving performance on the snow-covered road is simulated, and the influence of the tire surface configuration, external load, inflation pressure, and snowpack compression on the tire traction behaviors is systematically investigated.

Assessing Remaining Service Life and Structural Performance of Substandard Airfield Pavement for Low-Volume Traffic with an Accelerated Aircraft Loading Simulator

A field evaluation to investigate the remaining service life and structural capacity of a substandard airfield pavement under accelerated aircraft traffic is reported in this paper. The pavement test section consisted of a relatively thin asphalt concrete layer with a considerably thin base course. A single-wheel aircraft simulator was used to mimic the loading conditions of two cargo aircrafts, C-17 and C-130. Two operating tire inflation pressures, namely normal tire pressure (NTP) and approximately 20% below NTP (reduced tire pressure), were investigated as a strategy to improve the pavement’s service life while maintaining the total aircraft load. The rut development was the primary pavement distress measured while the pavement structural capacity was routinely assessed with a heavyweight deflectometer and a portable lightweight deflectometer (LWD) at selected traffic intervals. PCASE software was also used to computationally predict the service life of the selected substandard airfield pavement. Overall, this nonstandard airfield pavement exhibited acceptable performance for an expedient aircraft mission with a C-17 (less than 100 passes) or a sustainment aircraft mission with a C-130 (less than 5000 passes). From this study, reducing the operating tire pressure did not influence the allowable number of passes to failure, considering the failure criterion as a rut depth of 25.4 mm. It was found that the LWD showed promise to monitor deterioration of substandard airfield pavements during aircraft operations. The PCASE results were not in full agreement with the field study and outlined the critical need of improving the current evaluation technique specifically for substandard airfield pavements.

Vertical and horizontal stresses from a lightweight autonomous field robot during repeated wheeling

Some agricultural robots differ in design from traditional tractors which can affect load distribution among the wheels and the resulting soil stresses, especially when moving and carrying implements. Accurate measurements of soil stresses from these machines are needed to estimate their potential to reduce risk of compaction. The aim of this experiment was to study the vertical and horizontal stresses during repeated wheeling from a lightweight autonomous robot and to compare the measurements with calculations using the model Terranimo. We installed stress transducers at 10 cm depth in a loamy sand soil with water content close to field capacity. As an example of an agricultural field robot, we used a 55 kW 4WD robot (model ROBOTTI 150 D equipped with 320/65 R16 tyres) in two configurations: unloaded (33.6 kN) and loaded with a sprayer (37.2 kN). We conducted ten passes with the robot on the same wheel tracks over the transducers and measured the contact area, dynamic wheel load, mean ground pressure and maximum vertical and horizontal stresses during each wheel pass. We observed a significant increase in mean ground pressure with repeated wheeling. Measured values of maximum vertical stresses were 32% larger than the ones predicted by the model. On the same wheel and for different numbers of passes, we found differences between maximum and minimum dynamic wheel loads of up to 9.3 kN. Our results suggest that using static loads from this machine as inputs in models can result in inaccurate predictions of soil-tyre interface parameters due to the high variability and unknown redistribution of the load under dynamic conditions. The differences between static and dynamic loads also impede the correct on-field adjustment of tyre inflation pressures. These issues can result in an underestimation of the risk of soil compaction of this type of vehicle, especially in the topsoil. This work can help design new robots that aim to minimize soil compaction.

An Advancement in Truck-Tire–Road Interaction Using the Finite Element Analysis

This paper aimed to investigate the cornering characteristics of a Regional Haul Steer II, RHS 315/80 R22.5 truck tire traveling on a dry, hard surface using the Finite element analysis (FEA). This research was carried out using commercial Finite Element software and Pam-Crash in an Explicit Environment. A finite element truck tire model was developed to apply the tire terrain cornering condition. The concentrated loads and boundary conditions for the rim and wheel were applied to the model. The rubber material was defined using the Mooney–Rivlin model. The truck tire cornering operating conditions, including three different speeds with respect to various positive slip angles, were investigated. Several simulations were repeated at various operating conditions, including three different inflation pressures and three different vertical loads. Subsequently, the tire lateral force was computed using the local and global frame coordinates. Additionally, the self-aligning moment was extracted from the tire cross-section at each operating condition. Finally, a comparison between the simulation results showed that the tire lateral force was highly sensitive to the variation of the slip angles at the higher domain, and also that the tire inflation pressure, regardless of the speed, was considered to be one of the main parameters directly affecting the tire-cornering properties.

Evaluation of Tires Acting on Soil in Field Conditions Using the 3D Scanning Method

This research presents the results of tests conducted under field conditions and included measuring the footprint of tires on soil. Two agricultural tires of the same size but different internal structures were tested, 500/50R17 (radial) and 500/50-17 (bias-ply). The factors were tire inflation pressure (0.8 bar, 1.6 bar, and 2.4 bar) and tire vertical load (7.8 kN, 11.8 kN, and 15.7 kN). The footprint made on the soil was scanned with a 3D scanner, resulting in a digital image of the tire footprint on the soil to enable an analysis of the measured parameters: length, width, depth, and contact area (in 3D form). Statistical analysis showed that for radial tire footprints, both inflation pressure and vertical load had a significant effect on all analyzed parameters. For bias-ply tire footprints, it was shown that only inflation pressure had a significant effect on all of the analyzed parameters, while the significance of the effect of the vertical load was not confirmed for the footprint depth. Based on the results obtained, the suitability of models describing the relationship between operating factors and the actual footprint area was verified. It was found that for a radial tire, the model formulated based on laboratory tests can predict the contact surface under field conditions (the correlation coefficient R2 was equal to 0.9226). In the case of a bias-ply tire, the correlation coefficient R2 reached a value equal to 0.5828. This indicates a less accurate estimation of the surface area under field conditions based on the model designed after laboratory testing.

Simulation Analysis of Tire Inflation Pressure Loss under Synergy of Temperature and Oxidation

Simulation Analysis of Tire Inflation Pressure Loss under Synergy of Temperature and Oxidation

A state-of-the-art review of measurement and modelling of skid resistance: The perspective of developing nation

A critical review of lab and field measurement methodologies, harmonization in measuring techniques, and modelling of skid resistance of asphalt concrete pavement have been provided. Although several past studies have provided literature review on general topics of skid resistance, to the best of the author’s knowledge, none of them have compressively covered the topic considering the status & requirements of developing nations. There has been significant development in speed with the improvement in computational facilities. In modern times, with the improvement in infrastructure quality in developing nations, permitted speeds have also drastically increased. To avoid skid-related accidents, it is important to develop good practices in maintaining sufficient skid resistance. The requirements and the availability of technology might be significantly different in developing nations. The suitability and limitations of various methods used for capturing the skid characteristics of the surface have been outlined. The harmonization in skid resistance measurement using laboratory and field-testing methods has been summarized. Correlation analysis of various in-situ and laboratory test data has been made to maintain a better harmony of measurement either in the field or in the laboratory. In the subsequent sections, progress in the modelling approach (analytical to numerical) has been discussed in brief. Computational capabilities of an analytical and numerical modelling approach for predicting pavement skid resistance characteristics have been reviewed. These models have been developed to consider complex attributes of tire pavement interactions like hydroplaning, temperature rise in the tire, mix morphology, tire inflation, and vehicle acceleration and deceleration for predicting skid resistance. These attributes of skid resistance have been discussed in detail and presented a basic overview of the model development process which is missing in past review studies. Few recent studies on skid resistance measurement and modelling to highlight the use of new technology and improvements over conventional techniques have been presented in the manuscript which has not been reviewed earlier. Critical factors affecting the skid resistance model like hydroplaning, tire-related parameters, temperature, and surface texture have been highlighted in this manuscript. Few key research directions have been suggested as the scope of future study to predict a more reliable skid resistance model.