Analysis of the influence of high-speed dynamic mechanical characteristics based on tire unevenness

Abstract

To investigate the influence of tire non-uniformity on the mechanical performance of radial tires, a simulation study was conducted to analyze the non-uniformity caused by the overlapping treatment at the interface regions during the manufacturing process. In this study, considering the manufacturing process characteristics of the 185/65R15 91 V radial tire, a high-precision finite element model of the tire was established using ABAQUS software. To precisely represent the mass distribution characteristics of the lap area during the tire forming process, an innovative modeling approach of introducing equivalent mass blocks at the lap interface of the model was innovatively adopted. Based on this modeling scheme, dynamic characteristic tests were conducted using a high-speed uniformity testing machine. The comparison and analysis of the experimental data and simulation results effectively validated the accuracy of the model in characterizing the dynamic mechanical properties of the tire. The simulation showed that at a speed of 200 km/h, the longitudinal force variation (TFV) of the non-uniform tire is three times that of the average tire and five times the radial force variation (RFV) of the average tire. The radial force variation (RFV) when the tire pressure is 0.21 MPa is approximately twice that of when the tire pressure is 0.30 MPa. The radial force component affected by tire unevenness increases as the vehicle speed increases. Especially when driving at high speed, the impact difference can reach more than 15 times. The results indicate that the influence of non-uniformity, induced by overlapping, on the mechanical properties of tires increases with vehicle speed. At low speeds, this impact is minimal and can be disregarded; however, at moderate to high speeds, the effect becomes more pronounced, potentially reaching several times that of a standard tire. Additionally, the impact of non-uniformity on tire mechanical properties exhibits a negative correlation with tire pressure. The higher the tire pressure, the smaller the impact of non-uniformity on tire mechanical properties.