Calculation of the rolling contact between a tyre and deformable ground

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is the development of enhanced tyre models for an adequate description of tyre–ground interaction on the basis of shell and three-dimensional theories. Investigations are aimed at applications in off-road vehicle dynamics, in tyre design and for soil protection in agriculture. It seems to be necessary to take into account the results of internal tyre mechanics. The soil under the tyre is described by different rheological models of ground surface behaviour in the normal and tangential directions. Soil models were tested with simple one-dimensional tyre models. Results are used for the determination of and improvement in the exactness of stiffness parameters in external tyre models and in the Böhm mass-points approach for transient loading of a rolling tyre. The model is modified for the real structure of agricultural tyres with lugs. The numerical results are compared with experimental data gained by a multipoint measurement technique for displacements in the inner part of the rolling tyre.

Keywords:

• Tyre models
• Rolling contact
• Terramechanics

Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (projects BO 648/5 and BO 648/6) and by the International Fonds INTAS–RFBR (project 95-525). We are grateful to our Russian and Ukrainian colleagues in the INTAS project for their participation in our work.