Finite Element Simulation And Structural Optimization Of Tire Pattern Drainage Performance

Taken 205/55R16 radial tire as an example,a calculation strategy of standard model results imported to explicit analysis is adopted with the help of ABAQUS code.Through different fluid-solid coupling models and calculation methods,the finite element simulations of tread drainage performance of tire models with various working conditions and tread pattern structures are carried out,and the tread pattern structures are optimized based on the drainage performance.Moreover,the wet roads traction coefficient is proposed,so as to quantitatively describe the drainage capacity of tread pattern and wet grip performance of tire.Firstly,the various tire modeling strategies are determined according to corresponding tread pattern types and three-dimensional tire models with a variety of tread patterns are established.By comparision the static stiffness simulated with the measured results,the reliability of the tire static model is verified.On the basis of the fluid-solid coupling simulations,the results are in good agreement with the experimental results by comparing the simulation of V shape pattern with the visual experimental water footprints.The accuracy of the fluid-solid coupling computational results is verified by the empirical formula of hydroplaning and the Bernoulli equation.By comparision the two fluid-solid coupling models of water rush model and tire rolling model as well as the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics(SPH)and Coupling Euler-Lagrange(CEL)computational methods,the results show the computational efficiency of water rush model is higher,and the results of tire rolling model are more intuitive.The SPH model can reflect fluid flow more vividly without boundary constraints,and it is not affected by the minimum stable increment determined by element size and mesh quality,so it is more efficient computation.While the CEL method is not only reliable and accurate,but also it can better reflect the hydrodynamic pressure of water flow.In this study,the tire rolling model with CEL method is selected as the main solution scheme.Based on these,the influences of different working conditions and pattern structures on pattern drainage performance are analyzed.The results show the water films thickness,pattern saturation,tread wear situation and the angle between pattern gap and circumference are positively correlated with the hydroplaning,while the load and inflation pressure are negatively correlated with it.And the longitudinal pattern in the middle of tread has better drainage capacity.Next,by calculating the drainage capacity of five typical tread patterns,the results show that the drainage performance of different patterns is transverse S < longitudinal S < reverse V < forward V < longitudinal pattern.In the water flow velocity field,the central flow velocity is higher,the bilateral flow velocity is slower,and the top water film driven by tread is the fastest,while the bottom flow velocity is slower.In the hydrodynamic pressure field,the high pressure in the middle of the wedge-shaped water film in the total hydroplaning zone plays a crucial role in the tire hydroplaning.The transverse pattern can decrease the pressure,and the "pumping effect" will also occur in the tire hydroplaning.Furthermore,the water flow in the longitudinal pattern grooves is concentrated,which has a strong effect on tread.And the hydroplaning effect of the longitudinal patterns is better than that of the oblique patterns.With the increase of driving speed,the contact area between tire and road surface transforms from normal contact area to hydroplaning area.Finally,the F1 nose structure and wide-mid-longitudinal pattern are applied to optimize and improve hydroplaning capacity of the tread pattern,while the trumpet structure has weak effect on the improvement of the hydroplaning.The concept of wet roads traction coefficient is proposed,so as to quantitatively describe the drainage capacity of tread pattern,Accordingly,it is the carried out that the quantitative simulation study on the drainage performance of eleven types of tire tread pattern.The results show the wet roads traction coefficient is an effective method to characterize the wet road grip of tires because of its validity and remarkable effect.