Predicting the Tread Wear of Nondriven Front Axle Tires from Laboratory Measurements

A method is derived and confirmed for predicting the tread wear configurations of tires positioned on nondriven axles of passenger vehicles. The method is based on laboratory measurements of the interfacial stresses of freely rolling tires and takes account of perturbations in these stresses that occur during the road test procedure. Wear is found to occur primarily at the exit end of the tire-road interface, and the degree of wear is related to the interfacial pressure and slip determining conditions at that location. The steering properties of the tire also enter into the determination.

Abrasion resistance of the rubber, temperature, character of the road surface, the test course, and the procedure all appear in the equations of wear in aggregate as a coefficient. In addition, there are interference effects between adjacent ribs of the tire that are established and taken into account.