Development of a thermomechanical tyre–pavement interaction model

Tyre operating temperature is an important concern for both tyre manufacturers and highway agencies which is known to have a major influence on the tyre traction. Most of the past tyre–pavement interaction studies were focused on the performance of the tyre while giving limited importance to the effect of the pavement texture profile. This paper presents a methodology of coupled thermomechanical finite element (FE) model to determine the progressive temperature development in tyre cross section. The model is developed for a test tyre rolling over an FE mesh of an asphalt pavement surface, and the effect of the developed temperature on the hysteretic friction is evaluated. Such a model will enable tyre manufacturers to come up with optimised tyre design; on the other hand, road agencies can design their friction test protocol. In this study, an attempt has been made to examine the developed tyre–temperature in time at different regions of tyre.