Computational investigation of hydroplaning risk of wide-base truck tyres on roadway

Abstract

The risk of hydroplaning is one of the major safety concerns at rainy weather condition for both travel public and highway agencies. Most previous studies have focused on analysis of hydroplaning for passenger car tyres while giving limited importance to truck tyres. This study aimed to investigate hydroplaning risk of truck tyres and compare hydroplaning speeds of different tyre configurations using three-dimensional (3-D) fluid–structure interaction models. The validation of hydroplaning simulation model was performed against the field test results from existing literature. The results show that the wide-base 445 tyre provides better safety performance than the conventional wide-base 425 tyre and dual tyre assembly with 11R22.5 tyre under wet weather condition. The hydroplaning potential increases with the increase in water film thickness on pavement surface. On the other hand, the high wheel load or high tyre inflation pressure positively increases hydroplaning speed. In addition, the analysis results demonstrate that the truck tyre under sliding condition has the higher hydroplaning risks than the tyre under free rolling condition. These factors should be considered together when developing safety improvement countermeasures for driving safety.

Keywords:

• Hydroplaning
• truck tyre
• fluid–structure interaction
• water film
• sliding
• load and pressure