Normal and shear forces in the contact patch of a braked racing tyre. Part 1: results from a finite-element model

Abstract

In this first part of a two-part article, a previously described and validated finite-element model of a racing-car tyre is developed further to yield detailed information on carcass deflections and contact pressure and shear stress distributions for a steady rolling, slipping, and cambered tyre. Variations in running conditions simulated include loads of 1500, 3000 and 4500 N, camber angles of 0° and −3°, and longitudinal slips from 0% to−20%. Special attention is paid to heavy braking, in which context the aligning moment is of great interest. Results generated are in broad agreement with limited experimental results from the literature and they provide considerable insight into how the tyre deforms and how the contact stresses are distributed as functions of the running conditions. Generally, each rib of the tyre behaves differently from the others, especially when the wheel is cambered. The results form a basis for the development of a simpler physical tyre model, the purpose of which is to retain accuracy over the full operating range while demanding much less computational resource. The physical tyre model is the topic of the second part of the article.

Keywords:

• finite element
• steady-state rolling
• rolling radius
• shear forces
• contact patch
• racing tyre