Static tire/road stick-slip interactions: Analysis and experiments

Tire/road interactions play a critical role in safe operation of ground vehicles. This paper presents the modeling, analysis, and experimental studies of stick-slip interactions between the stationary tire and the firm road. A semi-analytical model is first proposed to predict the normal force distribution on the tire contact patch. A beam-spring network modeling approach is then used to capture and compute the friction force and rubber deformation distributions on the contact patch during a stick-to-slip transition. To validate the contact models and analyses, a pressure-sensitive, electric conductive rubber sensor is embedded inside the tire rubber layer to extract the 3-D forces on the contact patch. Both the analytical and experimental results show that the friction force and rubber deformation distributions are dependent on the contact normal force distribution and the tire structural properties. The understanding and modeling of the static stick-slip interactions presented in this paper provide new knowledge and methods for studying dynamic tire/road interactions and flexible thin-layer/rigid contacts in other mechanical systems.