Comparative Study on the Effects of the Tread Rubber Compounds on Tire Tractive performance on Ice

Mechanical and thermal properties of the rubber compounds of a tire play an important role in the overall performance of the tire when it is in contact with the train. Although there are many studies conducted on the properties of the rubber compounds of the tire to improve some of the tire characteristics such as the wear of the tread, there is a limited number of studies that focus on the performance of the tires on ice. This study is part of a more comprehensive study to investigate the effect of rubber compounds on performance of the tire on ice. In this study three tires that are completely identical in terms of tire parameters (such as tire dimensions, treat pattern, tire structure, inflation pressure, etc., but have different tread rubber compounds have been investigated. Several tests have been conducted for the chosen tires in three modes: free rolling, braking, and traction using the Terramechanics Rig at TMVS at Virginia Tech. In this presentation we will only focus on the result for the traction tests. The experimental results were validated against results obtained from the in-house developed theoretical tire-ice model, which predicts the temperature changes at the contact patch, the height of the water film created in the contact patch, the viscos friction coefficient, and the total tire friction force, for different temperature of the ice. Future work includes further improvement of the tire-ice model to incorporate more rubber compounds and ice parameters, tests for additional tires, as well as investigating the lateral dynamics.