Abrasive wear amount estimate for 3D patterned tire utilizing frictional dynamic rolling analysis

In this paper, a numerical technique for predicting the wear amount of automobile tire is presented. A power function wear model derived based on the laboratory testing of rubber abrasion is adopted to correlate the wear rate of tread rubber blocks with the frictional energy dissipation, and the driving and loading conditions of the tire in the outdoor wear test are extracted from the virtual driving simulation using ADAMS. The tire frictional energy rates produced in each driving mode are computed by the frictional dynamic rolling analysis of 3D patterned tire model. Numerical results are also given to illustrate the theoretical work. ► A numerical technique to predict the wear amount and depth of tire models utilizing the finite element analysis is introduced. ► Frictional energy rate of tire is correlated with the abrasive wear rate by a power function wear rate model. ► 3D patterned tire model in which the detailed tread blocks are fully reflected is used to compute the frictional energy within the tire patch. ► Proposed estimate can determine the optimum rubber compound, tread pattern and material and structural composition of a tire model, which satisfies the target wear performance at the design stage.