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Procedia Engineering 177 (2017) 347 351

XXI International Polish-Slovak Conference Machine Modeling and Simulations 2016

Experimental studies of the size contact area of a summer tire as a

function of pressure and the load
Jakub Polasik*, Konrad J. Walu, ukasz Wargua
Chair of Basics of Machine Design, Poznan University of Technology ul. Piotrowo 3, 60-965 Pozna

Abstract

Vehicles in depending on the segment and destination vary in size, type and power drive unit. These factors directly affect the
total weight of the car and thus the type and size of tires. The choice of tire size depends on the power generated by the drive
unit, which through the interaction of tire-pavement is to be transferred to the surface. The parameters affecting the field of
contact with the ground is the value of the tire pressure and load on each wheel unit. Depending on the size of the rim, tire size
and the number of people transported and / or goods manufacturer gives the recommended pressures for front and rear axle of the
car. The effect of changes in pressure and load on the size of the surface area of contact selected summer tires with the road.
2017
2017Published
The Authors. Published
by Elsevier by Elsevier
Ltd. This Ltd.
is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of MMS 2016.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of MMS 2016
Keywords: tire; stamp; contact area; load; inprints;

1. Introduction

Depending on the segment the automotive vehicles can differ in essential technical data such as type of drive
unit, vehicle size or finish. These factors have a direct impact on vehicle mass and thus the type and size of tire.
Tyre size selection depends on the power generated by drive unit which must be transferred to the surface by the
interaction between tyre and pavement. The values of tyre pressure and unit load of individual wheels are the
parameters which have an impact on the contact area between the tyre and pavement [1-4]. Depending on the rim
size, tyres size, number of transported persons and/or cargo the tyre manufacturer gives the recommended tyre
pressures for front and back vehicle axles loaded and unloaded. The lower the tyre pressure, the larger the contact
area becomes - this leads to the effect of tyre spilling. During the driving high frictional resistance exists and this

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: polasik@interia.eu

1877-7058 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of MMS 2016
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2017.02.203
348 Jakub Polasik et al. / Procedia Engineering 177 (2017) 347 351

fact is the reason of heating and wear of the tyre [5]. High pressure in tyre causes too excessive wear of the central
section of the tyre [6]. Meanwhile low pressure in the tyre is the reason of wear of tread shoulder and temperature
growth [5, 7] in extreme conditions it can lead to tyre delamination or even to secondary vulcanization. The paper
presents the effect of changes of tyre pressure and load on the size of contact area between the tyre and pavement.

2. Measuring methodology

The aim of investigations was the measurement of contact area between summer tyres and pavement in function
of tyre pressure and load. The measurements were done for the following tyre pressures: 0,5 bar; 1,0 bar; 1,5 bar;
2,0 bar; 2,5 bar and 3,0 bar and for the following tyre loads: 50kg, 100kg, 150kg, 200kg, 250kg, 300kg, 350kg,
400kg, 450kg and 500kg. All impressions were digitalized and this fact allowed to model the geometry of trace
surface.

3. Measuring results

The results of laboratory tests and geometry modelling of contact surface between the tyre and pavement are
presented in Tables 1, 2 and 3.

Table 1. The results of measurements of tire contact with the ground Barum Brillantis . in size 165/80 R14
Barum 165/80 R14
surface area load [kg]
of contact
with the 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
ground [cm2]
1,0 - 45,89 - 70,50 - 108,19 - 133,75 - 159,55
pressure

1,5 14,81 34,46 42,67 66,05 71,02 100,02 108,85 109,93 122,80 135,95
[bar]

2,0 12,96 23,40 40,43 47,71 59,84 73,96 94,10 103,48 112,34 120,11
2,5 11,07 25,41 31,11 38,91 47,28 56,10 66,66 89,98 100,99 110,23
3,0 10,37 18,31 26,12 37,17 46,04 54,38 71,27 74,32 79,97 94,17

Fig. 1. Contact area of the tire Barum 165/80 R14 with the ground as a function of load and pressure.
Table 2. The results of measurements of tire contact with the ground Continental ContiEco Contact 3 . in size 195/65 R15
Continental 195/65 R15
surface area of load [kg]
contact with
the ground 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
[cm2]
1,0 20,60 38,10 58,85 86,78 95,30 116,15 133,15 143,86 159,56 171,56
pressure

1,5 17,02 30,00 44,82 58,97 72,80 85,44 98,78 111,65 125,73 137,32
[bar]

2,0 15,60 26,71 38,31 50,74 62,87 74,18 86,91 96,77 106,81 117,34
2,5 14,35 24,24 35,22 45,23 55,47 65,15 74,25 85,01 93,47 99,92
3,0 13,14 22,29 31,46 39,27 48,41 56,95 65,48 76,50 83,41 91,68
 Jakub Polasik et al. / Procedia Engineering 177 (2017) 347 351 349

Fig. 2. Contact area of the tire Continental 195/65 R15 with the ground as a function of load and pressure.

Table 3. The results of measurements tire contact with the ground Bridgestone Turanza in size: 205/55 R16
Bridgestone 205/55 R16
surface area load [kg]
of contact
with the 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
ground [cm2]
1,0 - 38,42 - 66,66 - 115,74 - 138,64 - 187,45
pressure

1,5 17,75 30,11 44,19 59,38 72,38 87,50 106,98 123,49 130,77 155,03
[bar]

2,0 16,41 25,49 37,06 50,22 62,04 74,68 86,87 97,96 107,68 120,80
2,5 12,94 21,53 30,58 42,51 52,20 62,96 71,52 82,51 89,07 101,91
3,0 12,32 18,34 29,54 37,54 46,87 55,51 64,44 74,23 82,67 88,18

Fig. 3. Contact area of the tire Bridgestone 205/55 R16 with the ground as a function of load and pressure.
350 Jakub Polasik et al. / Procedia Engineering 177 (2017) 347 351

Table 4. Views inprints summer tires.

Pressure: 2 [bar]
Bridgestone 205/55 R16 Continental 195/65 R15 Barum 165/80 R14

100
200
load [kg]

300
400
500
 Jakub Polasik et al. / Procedia Engineering 177 (2017) 347 351 351

4. Analysis of measuring results and summary

The presented measuring results of contact area between the tyre and pavement are characterised by similar
values for given tyre pressures and loads irrespective of tyre size. It can be clearly seen for the values of common
tyre pressure (recommended by vehicle manufacturers) for passenger cars i.e. 2 bar. For load 200kg contact surface
area was equal ca. 50 cm2, for load 250 kg ca. 60 cm2, and for load 300 kg ca. 70 cm2.
The tyre 165/80 R14 is high and has higher deflection under the load. The tyre 255/55 R16 is one of the lowest
tyres in tests and it is characterised by the highest radial stiffness. The obtained results (Fig. 1-3) are linear in scope
of allowable loads. In case of the tested tyres the decrease of tyre height and the increase of its width and diameter is
some kind of compromise described by almost constant contact area which depends only on unit load of tyre and
pressure inside the tyre.

References

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