Method and apparatus for predicting belt separation failure in aging tires by computer simulation
First Claim
1. A method of determining belt separation in a tire comprising:
- entering a plurality of tire characteristics into a model;
entering a plurality of operating characteristics into the model;
predicting crack growth within the tire in response to the tire characteristics and operating characteristics; and
generating a distance to separation in response to said crack growth rate and said operating characteristics.
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Abstract
A method has been invented for predicting the build-up of heat, material aging, and subsequent belt separation failure in rolling steel-belted pneumatic tires (20). The procedure employs finite element analysis and a new fatigue crack propagation model that takes output generated by the finite element model to predict distance and time to belt separation in the tire. The finite element model uses input information on tire load, speed and inflation pressure (12) to calculate the temperature and energy release rate at the corresponding tips of the fatigue crack to generate four-dimensional response surfaces of crack-tip energy release rate as a function of crack length, crack-tip circumferential angular position, and crack-tip temperature. The fatigue crack propagation model samples the response surface and is numerically integrated to predict distance and/or time to belt separation failure (30).
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of determining belt separation in a tire comprising:
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entering a plurality of tire characteristics into a model;
entering a plurality of operating characteristics into the model;
predicting crack growth within the tire in response to the tire characteristics and operating characteristics; and
generating a distance to separation in response to said crack growth rate and said operating characteristics. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of determining belt separation in a tire comprising:
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forming a finite element tire model in response to a tire construction features;
applying pressure loading to the model;
applying radial loading to the model;
applying a rotational speed to the model;
determining an energy release rate at a fatigue crack tip;
determining a path of fatigue propagation in response to the energy release; and
determining a time or distance until tread failure in response to the fatigue propagation. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A system for determining belt separation comprising:
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an input device for entering a plurality of tire characteristics into a model and entering a plurality of operating characteristics;
a display; and
a controller programmed to predict crack growth within the tire in response to the tire characteristics and operating characteristics and generate a distance to separation on said display in response to said crack growth rate and said operating characteristics. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification