A 3-DIMENSIONAL TIRE MODEL BY THE FINITE-ELEMENT METHOD

To improve the prediction of the performance of tires on unprepared terrain, an accurate method for predicting the geometry of the contact patch between the tire and the terrain is essential. A tire model that can adequately represent the elastic behavior of the pneumatic tire is, therefore, needed. In this paper, a tire model developed using a three-dimensional, elastic finite element method is described. The elastic properties of the model are derived from the measured load-deflection and deflection-contact geometry relationships of the pneumatic tire on hard ground, which are generally available from the tire manufacturer. This approach ensures that the elastic behavior of the tire model is as close as possible to that of the pneumatic tire to be studied. It is expected that the analysis of tire-terrain interaction using the tire model proposed will lead to a more accurate prediction of the contact geometry than using existing methods.