Influence of tire-pavement thermomechanical interaction on contact stresses and rolling resistance

Roadway networks rely heavily on appropriate design and rehabilitation techniques to promote longevity and maximize infrastructure investments. Considering a loaded-pavement scenario, the behavior of flexible or asphalt-concrete-surfaced pavements is significantly influenced by both loading and environmental conditions. Heavy truck loads govern pavement responses and, thus, the eventual pavement damage. The anticipated increase in freight load and volume along with the prospect of autonomous truck platooning make it imperative that transportation agencies update their corresponding protocols and identify relevant solutions. One of the most critical perspectives in solving this problem begins at the tire-pavement contact. Traditionally, conventional design and analysis of tire and pavement are done separately, with limited consideration of their inherent coupling. This scenario is ubiquitous for both roadway and airfield pavements. Although numerical models of tire and pavement exist, there is limited understanding of their coupling, especially with respect to heavy truck tire-pavement interaction. In this study, a thermomechanical interaction model is introduced to fill this gap with the overall goal of quantifying the influence of the interaction—specifically, the tire-pavement contact stresses and rolling resistance or loss. A baseline hyperelastic tire model was generated to understand the effect of the applied load, tire-inflation pressure, and traveling speed on contact stresses. Utilizing tire-pavement contact stresses as the main excitation for pavement responses, Domain Analysis is introduced to evaluate multi-axial pavement responses induced by three-dimensional and non-uniform contact stress distributions. Domain Analysis evaluates bulk pavement behavior and identifies regions of potential damage in lieu of point strains. Furthermore, the turning maneuver of an aircraft landing gear tire on airfield pavements, which exhibits high tire-pavement contact stress levels, exacerbates the near-surface responses that may lead to shear and slippage distresses. In this study, the perspectives of tire and pavement engineers were merged to guide the design of the interaction model. The developed model represents a fully coupled thermal-stress analysis of a hyper-viscoelastic tire rolling over a deformable pavement layer under various load conditions and temperature profiles. As the tire model becomes dissipative, both uniform and non-uniform temperature profiles, coupled with mechanical loading, further influenced the resulting contact stresses and rolling loss. Analogous to the seasonal behavior of viscoelastic materials, the resulting contact stresses under temperature conditions corresponding to winter differed than those of summer — higher contact stress magnitudes in “winter” were observed due to a reduced contact area, whereas lower magnitudes became evident during the “summer” as the stresses were distributed over a wider contact imprint. Finally, a prediction scheme using nonlinear regression is presented to provide a practical means of generating tire-pavement contact stress distribution without the need of computationally intensive simulations. Identifying critical thermomechanical tire-pavement interactions provide pavement engineers insights into improving pavement design and maintenance techniques, whereas tire manufacturers gain a deeper understanding of the influence of the tire's operating conditions on pavement performance.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Civil Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2021

Author dc:creator

• Jayme, Angeli Mariz Gamez

Contributors dc:contributor

• Al-Qadi, Imad L
• Duarte, Carlos A
• Ouyang, Yanfeng
• Ozer, Hasan
• Scarpas, Athanasios

• tire-pavement interaction
• thermomechanical coupling
• contact stress prediction
• finite element model
• pavement bulk behavior
• asphalt concrete
• flexible pavement
• domain analysis
• three-dimensional contact stresses

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2020 Angeli Mariz Jayme

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/109633

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/109633