CHAPTER 1
MECHANICS OF PNEUMATIC TIRES
Aside from aerodynamic and gravitational forces, all other major forces and moments affecting the motion of a ground vehicle are applied through the running gear–ground contact. An understanding of the basic characteristics of the interaction between the running gear and the ground is, therefore, essential to the study of performance characteristics, ride quality, and handling behavior of ground vehicles.
The running gear of a ground vehicle is generally required to fulfill the following functions:
•to support the weight of the vehicle
•to cushion the vehicle over surface irregularities
•to provide sufficient traction for driving and braking
•to provide adequate steering control and direction stability.
Pneumatic tires can perform these functions effectively and efficiently; thus, they are universally used in road vehicles, an
d are also widely used in off-road vehicles. The study of the mechanics of pneumatic tires therefore is of fundamental importance to the understanding of the performance and char- acteristics of ground vehicles. Two basic types of problem in the mechanics of tires are of special interest to vehicle engineers. One is the mechanics of tires on hard surfaces, which is essential to the study of the characteristics of road vehicles. The other is the mechanics of tires on deformable surfaces (unprepared terrain), which is of prime importance to the study of off-road vehicle performance.
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4 MECHANICS OF PNEUMATIC TIRES
The mechanics of tires on hard surfaces is discussed in this chapter, whereas the behavior of tires over unprepared terrain will be discussed in Chapter 2.
A pneumatic tire is a flexible structure of the shape of a toroid filled with compressed air. The most important structural element of the tire is the car- cass. It is made up of a number of layers of flexible cords of high modulus of elasticity encased in a matrix of low modulus rubber compounds, as shown in Fig. 1.1. The cords are made of fabrics of natural, synthetic, or metallic composition, and are anchored around the beads made of high tensile strength steel wires. The beads serve as the ‘‘foundations’’ for the carcass and provide adequate seating of the tire on the rim. The ingredients of the rubber com- pounds are selected to provide the tire with specific properties. The rubber compounds for the sidewall
are generally required to be highly resistant to fatigue and scuffing, and styrene–butadiene compounds are widely used [1.1].1 The rubber compounds for the tread vary with the type of tire. For instance, for heavy truck tires, the high load intensities necessitate the use of tread compounds with high resistance to abrasion, tearing, and crack growth, and with low hysteresis to reduce internal heat generation and rolling resis- tance. Consequently, natural rubber compounds are widely used for truck tires, although they intrinsically provide lower values of coefficient of road adhesion, particularly on wet surfaces, than various synthetic rubber com- pounds universally used for passenger car and racing car tires [1.1]. For tube- less tires, which have become dominant, a thin layer of rubber with high impermeability to air (such as butyl rubber compounds) is attached to the inner surface of the carcass.
The load transmission of a pneumatic tire is analogous to that of a bicycle wheel, where the hub hangs on the spokes from the upper part of the rim, which in turn is supported at its lower part by the ground. For an inflated pneumatic tire, the inflation pressure causes tension to be developed in the cords comprising the carcass. The load applied through the rim of the wheel hangs primarily on the cords in the sidewalls through the beads.
The design and construction of the carcass determine, to a great extent, the characteristics of the tire. Among the various design parameters, the ge- ometric dispositions of layers of rubber-coated cords (plies), particularly their directions, play a significant role in the behavior of the tire. The direction of the cords is usually defined by the crown angle, which is the angle between the cord and the circumferential center line of the tire, as shown in Fig. 1.1. When the
cords have a low crown angle, the tire will have good cornering characteristics, but a harsh ride. On the other hand, if the cords are at right angle to the centerline of the tread, the tire will be capable of providing a comfortable ride, but poor handling performance.
A compromise is adopted in a bias-ply tire, in which the cords extend diagonally across the carcass from bead to bead with a crown angle of ap- 1 Numbers in brackets designate references at the end of the chapter.
MECHANICS OF PNEUMATIC TIRES5 Fig. 1.1    Tire construction. (a) Bias-ply tire. (b) Radial-ply tire.
6      MECHANICS OF PNEUMATIC TIRES
proximately 40°, as shown in  Fig.  1.1(a).  A  bias-ply  tire  has  two  plies (for light-load tires) or more (up to 20 plies for heavy-load tires). The cords
in adjacent plies run in opposite directions. Thus, the cords overlap in a diamond-shaped (criss-cross) pattern. In operation,  the  diagonal  plies  flex and rub, thus elongating the diamond-shaped elements and the rubber-filler. This flexing action produces a wiping motion between  the  tread and  the road, which is one of the main causes of tire wear and high rolling resistance [1.2, 1.3].
The radial-ply tire, on the other hand, is constructed very differently from
the bias-ply tire. It was first introduced by Michelin in 1948 and has now become dominant for passenger cars and trucks and increasingly for heavy-长安汽车
duty earth-moving machinery.  However, the bias-ply tire is  still in use in
particular fields, such as cycles, motorcycles, agricultural machinery, and some military equipment. The radial-ply tire has one or more layers of cords
in the carcass extending radially from bead to bead, resulting in a crown angle of 90°, as shown in Fig. 1.1(b). A belt of several layers of cords of high modulus of elasticity (usually steel or other high-strength materials) is
fitted under the tread, as shown in Fig. 1.1(b). The cords in the belt are laid at a low crown angle of approximately 20°. The belt is essential to the proper functioning of the radial-ply tire. Without it, a radial-ply carcass can become unstable since the tire periphery may develop into a series of buckles due to
the irregularities in cord spacing when inflated. For passenger car tires, usu-
ally there are two radial plies in the carcass made of synthetic material, such
as rayon or polyester, and two plies of steel cords and two plies of cords made of synthetic material, such as nylon, in th
e belt. For truck tires, usually there is one radial steel ply in the carcass and four steel plies in the belt. For the radial-ply tire, flexing of the carcass involves very little relative movement of the cords forming the belt. In the absence of a wiping motion between the tire and the road, the power dissipation of the radial-ply tire could be as low as 60% of that of the bias-ply tire under similar conditions, and the life of the radial-ply tire could be as long as twice that of the equivalent bias-ply tire [1.3]. For a radial-ply tire, there is a relatively uniform ground pressure over the entire contact area. In contrast, the ground pressure for a bias-ply tire varies greatly from point to point as tread elements passing through the contact area undergo complex localized wiping motion.
There are also tires built with belts in the tread on bias-ply construction.
This type of tire is usually called the bias-belted tire. The cords in the belt are of materials with a higher modulus of elasticity than those in the bias- plies. The belt provides high rigidity to the tread against distortion, and re- duces tread wear and rolling resistance in comparison with the conventional bias-ply tire. Generally, the bias-belted tire has characteristics midway be- tween those of the bias-ply and the radial-ply tire.
In the United States, the Department of Transportation requires tire man-
ufacturers to provide information on tire dimensions and ratings on the side-
1.1  TIRE FORCES AND MOMENTS7 wall of every tire. For instance, for a tire ‘‘P185 / 70 R14 87S,’’ ‘‘P’’ indicates a passenger car tire; ‘‘185’’ is the nominal width of the cross section in millimeters; ‘‘70’’ is the aspect ratio, which is the ratio of the height of the sidewall to the cross-sectional width; ‘‘R’’ stands for radial-ply tire; ‘‘14’’ is the rim diameter in inches; ‘‘87’’ is a code indicating the maximum load the tire can carry at its maximum rated speed; ‘‘S’’ is a speed rating which in- dicates the maximum speed that the tire can sustain without failure, S    112 mph (180 km/ h), T—118 mph (190 km/ h), H—130 mph (210 km/ h), V— 149 mph (240 km/ h), Z—149 mph (240 km/ h) or more. Traction and tem- perature capabilities are indicated on a scale from A to C, A being the best and C the worst. The traction rating is based on straight-line stopping ability on a wet surface. The temperature rating is an index of the tire’s ability to withstand the heat that high speeds, heavy loads, and hard driving generate. Tread-wear index is an indication of expected tire life. It is rated against a reference tire with an index of 100. For instance, a tread-wear rating of 420 means that the tire should last 4.2 times as long as the reference tire. A tread- wear index of 180 is considered to be quite low and an index of 500, quite high.
Although the construction of pneumatic tires differs from one type to an- other, the basic problems involved are not dissimilar. In the following sections, the mechanics fundamental to all types of tire will be discussed. The char- acteristics peculiar to a particular kind of tire will also be described.
1.1 TIRE FORCES AND MOMENTS
To describe the characteristics of a tire and the forces and moments acting on it, it is necessary to define an axis system that serves as a reference for the definition of various parameters. One of the commonly used axis systems recommended by the Society of Automotive Engineers is shown in Fig. 1.2 [1.4]. The origin of the axis system is the center of tire contact. The X axis is the intersection of the wheel plane and the ground plane with a positive direction forward. The Z axis is perpendicular to the ground plane with a positive direction downward. The Y axis is in the ground plane, and its di- rection is chosen to make the axis system orthogonal and right hand.
There are three forces and three moments acting on the tire from the
ground. Tractive force (or longitudinal force) F
x is the component in the X
direction of the resultant force exerted on the tire by the road. Lateral force
F
y is the component in the Y direction, and normal force F
z
is the component
in the Z direction. Overturning moment M
x is the moment about the X axis
exerted on the tire by the road. Rolling resistance moment M
y is the moment
about the Y axis, and aligning torque M
z  is the moment about the Z axis.
With this axis system, many performance parameters of the tire can be conveniently defined. For instance, the longitudinal shift of the center of nor- mal pressure is determined by the ratio of the rolling resistance moment to