Finite element analysis of tires in rolling contact

In this publication an overview on sophisticated modeling approaches for the finite element computation of rolling tires based on an Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) formulation of the kinematic will be outlined. After a brief introduction into the ALE-concepts special attention is laid onto the treatment of the tangential contact formulation. As the path-lines of the material points are not computed directly within the relative kinematics framework, techniques for the treatment of inelastic material properties and the coupled thermo-mechanical analysis with emphasis to rolling loss analysis will be given. Furthermore a modal superposition approach is suggested for the analysis of the high frequency response of rolling tires excited from the surface roughness of the road. Finally a mesoscopic modeling approach for the transient dynamic analysis of the tread rubber with the rough roads surface is presented. In summary these techniques enable for a broad bandwidth of tire specific behavior in rolling contact. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.