Hydroplaning Analysis by FEM and FVM: Effect of Tire Rolling and Tire Pattern on Hydroplaning

The new numerical procedure for hydroplaning has been developed by considering the following three important factors; fluid/structure interaction, tire rolling, and practical tread pattern. The tire was analyzed by FEM with Lagrangian formulation and the fluid is analyzed by FVM with Eulerian formulation. Since the tire and the fluid are modeled separately and their coupling is automatically computed by the coupling element, the fluid/structure interaction of the complex geometry such as the tire with the tread pattern can be analyzed practically. We verified the predictability of the hydroplaning simulation in the different parameters such as the water flow, the velocity dependence of hydroplaning, and the effect of the tread pattern on hydroplaning. In order to predict the streamline in the contact patch, the procedure of the global-local analysis was developed. Since the streamline could be predicted by this technology, we could develop the new pattern in a short period based on the principle; “make the stream line smooth”.