Experimental and Theoretical Studies of Rubber Properties; The Application to Tyre Tread Rubber

The application of rubber testing technique to actual tyre tread rubber was carried out. The tread rubber properties are significant to theoretical prediction of tyre force and moment characteristics. Therefore, the material properties should be evaluated accurately prior to the application. Rubber testing in 5 fundamental deformation modes was introduced [1]. So far, 4 deformation modes were examined to three types of commercial grade rubber sheets; uni-axial tensile, pure shear, simple shear, and volumetric compression [2]. In this paper, actual tyre tread from a used Dunlop SL1 Go-kart slick was tested in 3 deformation modes; uni-axial tensile, simple shear, and volumetric compression. Test results were verified by FEA software and the results of each rubber were compared regarding compounds.