3-DIMENSIONAL FINITE-ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF LOADED TIRES

A non-linear three-dimensional finite element analysis technique for a full tire model, using an NEC supercomputer SX-3, was applied to obta ining various tire characteristics, such as inflated tire geometry, lo ad-deflection relationships, footprint contours, tire-ground contact p ressure distributions, slip movements at the contact interface under t he vertical, lateral, and torsional loadings. The results obtained wer e compared with the experimental results, and this simulation techniqu e proved to have sufficient reliability to shift the bases of tire des igning from the traditional method of repeating trial making and evalu ation to a new simulation technique using finite element analysis. Thi s shift promises to cut a large amount of tire development costs inclu ding manpower, materials, time and investment. To help promote the lab orsaving of a series of three-dimensional finite element analysis proc esses for tires, pre- and post-processors were successfully developed; the former in significantly reducing the man-hours for preparing the input data, and the latter in immediately displaying analysis output o n such a workstation.