A general mechanical model has been developed for the analysis of rolling steel belted tyres under transient speed and acceleration conditions. The belt circumfe- rence of the tyre model is subdivided into slip and non- slip zones. Two deformation fields describe ben- ding and extensional strain of the steel belt.The tread deformations are covered separately by shear and depressure fields to be determined along the tyre circumference. The model is applicable to both even and uneven road surfaces. The principle of virtual work is applied to obtain partial differential equations of motion fo r the belt and the tread. In addition, transient slip and non- slip conditions are provided for the contact patch area. An analysis in space and time , based upon finitedifferences and newmark's intergration method, is applied to solve the equations of motion along with the boundary and slip conditions. Preliminary computer results for some special cases are presented.
Abstract