Aircraft Tire/Pavement Pressure Distributions

A finite element tire model has been used to examine pavement pressure distributions developed by statically loaded aircraft tires. This paper briefly describes the tire model's characteristics and presents load versus deflection curves and pavement pressure distributions calculated for three different aircraft tires. The tire model shows that the nonuniformity of the tire/pavement pressure distribution increases when the tire is operated at an inflation pressure or tire load that is above or below the design value for that tire. The data calculated by the tire model are compared with load-deflection curves and contact pressure data measured for the tires modeled.