Experimental Characterisation of Tyre Indentation by Simulated Runway Debris

Abstract

As part of an investigation to assess the impact threat posed to vehicles by tyre‐lofted runway debris, it is important to gain a quantitative understanding of the interaction between inflated tyres and foreign objects. In this paper, experiments involving indentation of an inflated tyre to represent over‐rolling of a foreign object were used to estimate the energy that could be transferred to the over‐rolled object. The maximum kinetic energy that a 24‐mm diameter spherical stone could potentially attain from such an indentation‐related loft mechanism by a tyre inflated to 0.34 MPa (50 psi) was 20 J.