Improved tire-soil interaction model using FEA-SPH simulation

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to predict the rolling resistance of a free rolling off-road truck tire (size 315/80R22.5) over several soils. The soils are modelled using Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) in the software package “Pam-Crash”. The soil models are calibrated using data obtained from published pressure-sinkage and shear-strength tests. The truck tire used in this study was modelled using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and validated in previous studies. The tire-soil interaction algorithm is implemented in Pam-Crash software package to capture node-symmetric node-to-segment contact with edge treatment. The rolling resistance coefficient is computed from simulations and then validated against physical measurements. The rolling resistance coefficient is calculated for different terrains, such as dry sand, dense sand, clayey soil and hard surface. In addition, the rolling resistance is also computed for various tire inflation pressures and applied vertical loads. The research results presented in this paper will be further used for soil mixing-layering investigation.