Development of Rubber-Road Contact Friction Theory and Comparison with Experiments
For tire designers, rubber friction is a topic of huge practical importance. Unless friction is accurately described, no tire model, independent of how detailed the description of the tire structure may be, will provide an accurate picture of tire dynamics. In the present work a multi-scale contact model that can predict the performance of tires on different road surfaces is developed. The inputs to the model are pavement properties and dynamic viscoelastic modulus of rubber. The road surface profile is measured accurately via an optical profilometer, and parameterized. The tire tread compounds are also characterized through dynamic mechanical analysis. To validate the model, an indoor rubber friction test equipment is designed and built. The apparatus consists of a turntable that mimics the surface characteristics of choice. The wheel speed as well as the turntable speed can be controlled precisely to generate arbitrary values of longitudinal slip at which the dynamic coefficient of friction is measured. Good agreement is observed between the experimental and the analytical results.
1Center for Tire Research (CenTiRe) at Virginia Tech, 100C Randolph Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24060, Email: motamedi@vt.edu; 2Advanced Vehicle Dynamics Lab (AVDL), Mechanical Engineering Department, Virginia Tech, 107 Randolph Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24060,