Investigation on Hydroplaning Behaviors of a Patterned Tire on a Steel Bridge Deck Pavement

The hydroplaning propensity on the steel bridge deck pavement (SBDP) is higher than ordinary road pavements. In this study, the objective is to develop a hydroplaning model to evaluate the hydroplaning behaviors for SBDPs. To achieve this goal, a finite element (FE) model of a 3D-patterned radial tire model was developed at first, and the grounding characteristics of tire on the SBDP were calculated as an initial condition for the follow-up hydroplaning analysis. The X-ray CT scanning device and Ostu thresholding method were used for image processing of pavement surface topography, and the 3D FE model of SBDP was established by the reverse stereological theory and voxel modeling technique, which can accurately reconstruct the pavement morphology. A fluid model was established to simulate the dynamic characteristics of water film between the tire and SBDP. On this basis, the tire–fluid–pavement interaction model was developed based on the CEL (Couple Eulerian–Lagrangian) algorithm, and it was verified by the hydroplaning empirical equations. Finally, the hydroplaning behaviors on the SBDP were studied. The findings from this study can provide a tool for hydroplaning evaluation on SBDPs, and will be helpful to improve the driving safety of SBDP in rainy days.

Adhesion Characteristics of Tire-Asphalt Pavement Interface Based on a Proposed Tire Hydroplaning Model

In order to study the adhesion between tire and asphalt pavement, we established a finite element model of a hydroplaning, inflatable, patterned tire based on the coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian method and then validated the model’s applicability. We numerically calculated tire-pavement adhesion curves for three types of pavement: asphalt concrete (AC), stone mastic asphalt (SMA), and open-graded friction course (OGFC). In accordance with adhesion characteristic theory with regard to tires and asphalt pavements, we analyzed the influential factors that affect the adhesion characteristics of the tire-asphalt pavement interface in an antilock braking system and under damp conditions. The results show that the adhesion between tire and pavement is related to the movement of the tire. In this study, the longitudinal adhesion coefficient for the tire-pavement interface initially increased with an increase in the slip rate and then decreased. Once the slip rate was about 20 percent, the longitudinal adhesion reached its maximum value. In addition, we found that a deep surface macrotexture improved the hydroplaning speed of the tire when the water film was not too thick and the inflation pressure was high. Also, dry pavement led to better adhesion than a wet state in terms of specific mean profile depth. With the same water film thickness, the adhesion coefficient decreased with an increase in driving velocity. The OGFC pavement offered better skid resistance than both AC pavement and SMA pavement.

Analysis on the Hydroplaning of Aircraft Tire

Aircraft tire is an important subassembly of aircraft, which is related to its safety tightly, especially for civil aircraft. Moreover, hydroplaning of aircraft tires is often a contributing factor in take-off and landing overrun and veeroff accidents. Therefore the study on them is imperative. For studying the hydroplaning of aircraft tire, a 2D finite element model of aircraft tire is developed by using TYABAS software, and then a 3D patterned tire model is presented. The hydroplaning of aircraft tire is analyzed by generally coupling an Eulerian finite volume method and an explicit Lagrangian finite element method. The hydroplaning speeds are investigated, which is a key factor of hydroplaning. Results indicated that the hydroplaning speed increases with the increment of inflation pressure; the hydroplaning speed decreases with the increment of the footprint aspect ratio.