Temperature-Dependent Analysis of the Tire–Road Interaction Characteristics for a Passenger Car Tire Using Finite Element Analysis

In this article, a finite element analysis for the passenger car tire size 235/55R19 is performed to investigate the effect of temperature-dependent properties of the tire tread compound on the tire–road interaction characteristics for four seasons (all-season, winter, summer, and fall). The rubber-like parts of the tire were modeled using the hyperelastic Mooney–Rivlin material model and were meshed with the three-dimensional hybrid solid elements. The road is modeled using the rigid body dry hard surface and the contact between the tire and road is modeled using the non-symmetric node-to-segment contact with edge treatment. At first, the tire was verified based on the tire manufacturer’s data using numerical finite element analysis based on the static and dynamic domains. Then, the finite element analysis for the rolling resistance analysis was performed at three different longitudinal velocities (10 km/h, 40 km/h, and 80 km/h) under nominal loading conditions. Second, the steady-state traction analysis with the corresponding angular velocities of the mentioned longitudinal velocities range was carried out. In addition, a series of transient traction analyses were performed under 40 rad/s angular velocity (corresponding with the 50 km/h longitudinal velocity). The results show that the temperature plays a key role in the final value of the rolling resistance coefficient. Moreover, the longitudinal stiffness of the tire during the traction performance was investigated based on the various ambient temperatures, and it was observed that tire traction is very sensitive to the temperature-dependent properties of the tread compound.