A three-dimensional contact model for tyre/road interaction in rolling conditions

Journal article, 2004

Prediction of tyre/road noise has been one of the most challenging research fields within acoustics for the last twenty years. In particular, it has been difficult to achieve an accurate description of the road and rolling tyre contact, which is crucial for the estimation of tyre/road noise. In this paper, a three-dimensional contact model for the tyre/road interaction in rolling conditions is described, validated and illustrated by means of calculations. The contact model is formulated in the time domain for non-linearity reasons. It calculates the dynamic radial contact forces, the local deformation due to roughness indenting, and the normal forced vibrations of the tyre structure. The contact problem is solved using an elastic half-space, the road is assumed rigid. The tyre response is described by Green’s functions calculated with a tyre model, a pre-tensioned orthotropic Kirchhoff’s plate on a stiffness bedding. Measured acceleration signals of the tyre structure and calculated ones were compared. Results show that the agreement was good for the studied case.