A New Horizon for Evaluating Tire Grip Within a Laboratory Environment

Abstract

The evaluation of tire grip on the road is costly and consumes high energy and time, but is essential for safety. Prediction of tire grip on a laboratory scale is therefore always of interest and of utmost importance for research and material developments. It mostly suffers from lack of comparison with actual tire data. To involve all influencing factors on tire grip in a laboratory scale measurement is very complex. Therefore, it has always remained challenging to obtain a strong correlation between laboratory results and road data. In the present study, a new test method is developed for a Laboratory Abrasion Tester, LAT100, which enables to exploit the device as a tribometer. The objective was to develop a technique on a laboratory device to mimic the common test modalities for evaluating tire grip on the road with a trailer tester: lateral (α) and longitudinal (κ) sweep tests. The new method is validated by correlating the laboratory data with the two test modalities of real tire grip on a dry road using a trailer tester for six different tire tread compositions. For the LAT100 tests, solid rubber wheels are characterized at three different normal loads. The effects are comparable with actual tire data. The outcome of the new test method is in good agreement with actual tire trailer α-sweep tests.

Understanding Test Modalities of Tire Grip and Laboratory-Road Correlations with Modeling

“…Based on this outcome, it may be concluded that F y before reaching the sliding point is not a function of the tread stiffness. However, in reality, the tread stiffness affects the friction curve and sliding value as elaborated in the previous study [1]. This is a limitation of the current assumptions for the model.…”

“…When a vehicle brakes, accelerates, or corners, the tire tread elements in the contact area move a noticeable displacement in relation to the road. This has been elaborated in detail in our previous study [1]. Among all available laboratory tribometers suitable for measuring tire tread frictional properties, great interest exists towards measurements with solid rubber wheels [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

“…This has been elaborated in detail in our previous study [1]. Among all available laboratory tribometers suitable for measuring tire tread frictional properties, great interest exists towards measurements with solid rubber wheels [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. The main advantage is the rolling movement of the rubber wheel sample which is analogous to a tire.…”

“…In the previous study [1], the Laboratory Abrasion Tester (LAT100)-despite its name-was re-designed and employed as a laboratory tribometer for prediction of tire friction using a solid rubber wheel sample known as the Grosch wheel. First, it was demonstrated that the LAT100 can be exploited particularly to simulate the lateral -sweep tire tests, despite not being the longitudinal -sweep.…”

A novel methodology for evaluating wear behavior of rubber composites under combination of sliding and rolling conditions

“…[23,24] ] DIN tester is frequently used to measure the abrasion resistance of vulcanized rubber. [25] Salehi et al [26,27] has long specialized in investigation of tire grip in the laboratory using LAT100, and the developed new method is validated by correlating the laboratory data with the two tests modalities of real tire grip on a dry road using a trailer tester for six different tire tread compositions, the LAT100 results is in good agreement with actual tire trailer α-sweep tests. Likewise, Taber abrasion is also commonly applied to test the wear resistance of rubber materials.…”