Finite Element Modeling for the Cap Ply and Rolling Resistance of Tires

A new simulation methodology was proposed for predicting the temperature distribution and the rolling resistance of a passenger car tire with consideration of the thermo-mechanical characteristics of the cap ply. By combining the tensile test data and the shrinkage test data of Nylon 6.6 cap ply and Hybrid cap ply, the stress-strain-temperature curves were obtained. Then, these curves were implemented in an ABAQUS user subroutine. A deformation analysis and a thermal analysis were iteratively conducted until the temperature distribution reached a stable distribution. Then, the hysteretic loss, the rolling resistance, and the rolling resistance coefficient were estimated. Compared to experimental data available in the literature, the estimated rolling resistance coefficient was within a plausible range and showed a similar trend as the speed increased. It also showed that Nylon 6.6 cap ply and Hybrid cap ply reduced the rolling resistance coefficient of the tire with no cap ply at the speed of 160 km/h from 0.015 to 0.010 and to 0.009, respectively.