Dynamic Testing of F-16 Bias and Radial Tire Deformation

This paper presents an optical technique called fringe projection to measure three dimensional tire deformation subjected to different loads, percentages of deflection and yaw angles. Unlike the well-known Moire method, the proposed technique uses a single light source and a grating, thus requiring no image superposition. As a result, the measurement is not as sensitive to vibration as the Moire method. The fringe projection also differs from the commonly used optical inspection technique in manufacturing industry via line scanning known as structured light, which cannot be applied to dynamic deformation measurements. The recently developed subpixel resolution was employed to accurately locate the optical fringe centers, which in turn improves the accuracy in 3-D geometry determination. A fiber-optic displacement sensor was also placed close to the tire sidewall in order to measure the deformational change of a selected reference point. Finally, the deformations are compared between F-16 bias and radial aircraft tires when subjected to the same static loading conditions. Although the dynamic tests had been completed, the results of image analysis are not yet available.