This paper presents The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's perspective on heavy duty truck tyre/pavement interface issues. Maximum vertical contact pressure, pressure distribution profile, and sensitivity to tire inflation pressure/load are presented for various tyre types, sizes, and vehicle alignments. Tires provide the critical interface between the heavy duty truck and the roadway. Tyre/pavement forces dictate critical performance parameters (e.g., tyre wear, vehicle braking, and pavement life) and are thus of great interest when engineering the tyre, the vehicle, and the pavement. The distribution of the interfacial contact pressures within the tyre footprint and also the level of the localized peak contact pressure are affected by tyre and operation-related factors. Rolling contact forces were measured in the laboratory to quantify the impact of these various factors. Although the slow rolling speed at which the data was collected presents some limitations, it did provide valuable insight into tyre contact pressure behaviour and what factors are significant. This is especially true with respect to the issue of pavement damage. Some of the key issues are tyre size and tyre loading. Tire inflation pressure was found to have less of an impact on vertical contact pressures than tyre load, a fact supported by pavement damage studies. As the trucking environment continues its change to maximize profitability in an increasingly competitive marketplace, heavy duty truck tires will continue to play an important role. Guidelines for tyre selection are needed to ensure a durable highway system and must take into consideration tire and operational factors. Continued dialogue is needed between the pavement and transportation industries to ensure the needs of all parties are best served in the future.
Abstract