Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
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Online Publication Date: 16 Dec 2024

Thermomechanical Modeling of Aircraft Tire–Runway Contact for Transient Maneuvers

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Page Range: 258 – 288
DOI: 10.2346/tire.23.22012
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ABSTRACT

The aircraft tire is the link between the aircraft and the runway and transmits forces and moments within the contact area. During ground maneuvers, the tire is exposed to a wide range of operating conditions. The tires support the weight of the aircraft, they ensure safe rolling during taxiing, and they transfer the required forces to the runway during takeoff and landing. Temperature development during these maneuvers is of great importance because temperature can affect both material stiffness and friction behavior as well as wear characteristics. Heat is generated inside the tire due to energy dissipation caused by the cyclic loading of the tire during rolling. In addition, heat is generated due to friction in the tire–runway contact. Experimental measurements of the temperature distribution in the entire tire are not yet possible. The tire temperatures can only be determined at selected critical spots. Simulation models can help to obtain a better understanding of the overall tire temperature distribution during transient maneuvers. In this work, the transient thermomechanical processes of a rolling aircraft tire, e.g., directly following the touchdown process or during taxiing, are modeled based on a simple physical tire model. An extended brush model is used to simulate the contact forces. The tire temperature is determined via the transient heat conduction equation in radial and circumferential directions. The mechanical and thermal models are coupled via the coefficient of friction and the sliding velocities in contact. The free model parameters are parameterized using experimental data, and the overall model is validated by measurements on the whole tire. The validated thermomechanical tire model is used for simulations or the analysis of different driving maneuvers to get a better understanding of the temperature development in the aircraft tire.

Keywords: tire–runway contact; aircraft landing; transient driving maneuver; tire temperature
Copyright: 2024
FIG. 1 —
FIG. 1 —

The thermomechanical tire model.

FIG. 2 —
FIG. 2 —

The brush model.

FIG. 3 —
FIG. 3 —

Brush model forces for (top) isotropic and (bottom) anisotropic bristle stiffnesses, according to Sorniotti and Velardocchia [23].

FIG. 4 —
FIG. 4 —

Enhanced tire brush model for anisotropic bristle stiffness (an example for cpX > cpY) according to Sorniotti and Velardocchia [23].

FIG. 5 —
FIG. 5 —

Velocities in the body-fixed coordinate system (left) and an example of development of brush hair sliding velocities in the contact zone (right).

FIG. 6 —
FIG. 6 —

Tire temperature model.

FIG. 7 —
FIG. 7 —

Stress–strain curve for viscoelastic material.

FIG. 8 —
FIG. 8 —

Measured static contact pressure with Tekscan pressure measuring film and a vertical load of Fz = 0.68 · Fz,nom.

FIG. 9 —
FIG. 9 —

Experimental measured and approximated force distribution over contact length according to Kahms and Wangenheim [14] (left) and measured contact pressure with pressure measuring films and Fz = 0.68 · Fz,nom (right).

FIG. 10 —
FIG. 10 —

High-speed linear test rig; see also Kahms and Wangenheim [14].

FIG. 11 —
FIG. 11 —

(Left) preheated rubber sample and (right) pyrometer set-up.

FIG. 12 —
FIG. 12 —

Friction coefficient dependent on sliding velocity and temperature for different contact pressures.

FIG. 13 —
FIG. 13 —

Mean friction coefficient in dependency of contact pressure and temperature.

FIG. 14 —
FIG. 14 —

Slip and cornering stiffness.

FIG. 15 —
FIG. 15 —

Generated μ-slip curve from a real aircraft landing.

FIG. 16 —
FIG. 16 —

Measured lateral force over sideslip angle for (left) different vertical forces and (right) approximated bristle stiffness.

FIG. 17 —
FIG. 17 —

Heat transfer coefficient.

FIG. 18 —
FIG. 18 —

Storage and loss modulus.

FIG. 19 —
FIG. 19 —

Comparison of landing 1 and landing 2.

FIG. 20 —
FIG. 20 —

Measured and simulated braking forces in longitudinal direction (left) and slip ratio in longitudinal direction (right) of tire A, landing 1.

FIG. 21 —
FIG. 21 —

Measured and simulated force in (left) lateral direction and (right) slip ratio in lateral direction for tire A, landing 1.

FIG. 22 —
FIG. 22 —

Measured and simulated forces in longitudinal direction for different tires of landing 1 and landing 2.

FIG. 23 —
FIG. 23 —

Measured and simulated forces in lateral direction for different tires of landing 1 and landing 2.

FIG. 24 —
FIG. 24 —

Measured and simulated temperature of tire E.

FIG. 25 —
FIG. 25 —

Taxiing course after landing.

FIG. 26 —
FIG. 26 —

Calculated slip ratio in (left) longitudinal and (right) lateral direction during taxiing.

FIG. 27 —
FIG. 27 —

Simulated temperature development during taxiing.

FIG. 28 —
FIG. 28 —

Temperature increase in radial direction of tire B.

FIG. 29 —
FIG. 29 —

Discretized tire cross section for temperature calculation.

Contributor Notes

1 Corresponding author. Leibniz University Hannover, Institute of Dynamics and Vibration Research, An der Universitaet 1, 30823 Garbsen, Germany. Email: kahms@ids.uni-hannover.de
2 Leibniz University Hannover, Institute of Dynamics and Vibration Research, An der Universitaet 1, 30823 Garbsen, Germany. Email: hindemith@ids.uni-hannover.de
3 Leibniz University Hannover, Institute of Dynamics and Vibration Research, An der Universitaet 1, 30823 Garbsen, Germany. Email: wangenheim@ids.uni-hannover.de
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