Grooving of tire tread is necessary to provide sufficient skid resistance for wet-weather driving and to reduce the risk of hydroplaning. Many different groove patterns of tire tread are found in the market. However, their relative effectiveness in reducing hydroplaning risk is generally not known to motorists and highway engineers. The effects of changes in the groove depth of a tire tread's groove pattern also deserve further investigation. This paper presents an analytical study that aims to characterize quantitatively the influence of different tire-tread patterns and groove depths on the hydroplaning behavior of passenger cars. The analysis is performed by means of a computer simulation model with a three-dimensional finite element approach. The following six forms of tire-tread groove patterns are considered: ( a) longitudinal groove pattern, (b) transverse groove pattern, ( c) V-groove pattern with 20° V-cut, (d) V-groove pattern with 40° V-cut, ( e) combined groove pattern consisting of longitudinal grooves and edge horizontal grooves, and ( f) combined groove pattern consisting of longitudinal grooves and 20° V-cut grooves. The analysis shows that a parameter computed as the groove volume per tread area of the tire is a useful performance indicator to assess the effectiveness of various tire-tread groove patterns in reducing vehicle hydroplaning risk. The significance of V-shape grooves is discussed. For vehicular operations involving both forward and lateral movements, the analysis indicates that a combined pattern would provide a good compromise in lowering hydroplaning risk sufficiently in different modes of vehicle movements.
Hydroplaning is known to be a major cause of wet-weather road accidents. The risk of hydroplaning in wet-weather driving is a function of the depth of surface water, pavement texture properties, and tire characteristics. With the aim to improve and ensure wet-weather driving safety, extensive experimental studies have been conducted by researchers to understand how tire characteristics (in particular, tire tread depth), would affect vehicle hydroplaning risk. Rib tires have been commonly used for such experiments. Relationships derived experimentally by past researchers are available to estimate the effect of rib-tire tread depth on hydroplaning risk. However, such statistical relationships have limitations in their application range and transferability. They also do not provide detailed insights into the mechanism of hydroplaning. These limitations can be overcome through development of a theoretically derived analytical model. This paper presents an analytical simulation study that is based on the theory of hydrodynamics. The method of modeling using finite element techniques is described. Measured data from past experimental studies are used to validate the simulation model. The simulation model is applied to analyze the effect of tire tread depth on hydroplaning for different surface water depths. The effect of tire inflation pressure on the hydroplaning risk of rib tires is also examined. In addition, the effect of different rib tire designs in relation to the number of grooves is studied. This study demonstrates that the proposed model can be a useful analytical tool for evaluating the hydroplaning risk of wet-weather driving.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.