Investigation thermomechanical behaviour of pneumatic tires by finite element method

Investigation of Thermomechanical Behaviour of Pneumatic Tires by Finite Element Method In general, thermomechanical behavior of a pneumatic tire is a highly complex transient phenomenon. This problem has been defined as a challenging problem for many researchers due to material nonlinearities, inhomogeneties, large deformations and complicated boundary conditions. In this thesis, a sequential approach consisting of three main analysis modules: deformation, dissipation and thermal modules were used. For the deformation module, a full-scale finite element model of a tire is established using rebar elements for the cord reinforced part and the Mooney-Rivlin material model for rubber. With the follower pressure force, firstly inflation (including centrifugal forces) and then contact analyses between tire and pavement were carried out. Using calculated stresses and strains from the deformation module, an analytic approach for the calculation of the heat source in the rolling tire is established using the viscoelastic theory for the dissipation module. Finally, temperature distribution was calculated with the thermal module in a steady state case, using the distribution of heat generation rate which is obtained from the dissipation module and then with this temperature distributions thermal stresses were calculated using deformation module. Several examples are solved and results are compared with the literature. The calculated stresses, strains and thermal distribution are in good agrement with the existing data. During this thesis, MARC/MENTAT program used with user subroutines for finite element modeling. Key Words : Nonlinear finite element analysis, Tire, Rubber, Heat Generation, Contact problem, Material Nonlinearity, Geometric nonlinearity, Viscoelasticity VI