Materials and Design 30 (2009) 1124–1132

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Materials and Design

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matdes

Stress analysis of a multi-laminated tractor tyre using non-linear 3D finite

element analysis
A. Mohsenimanesh a,b,*, S.M. Ward a, M.D. Gilchrist c
a
Biosystems Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
b
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Khorasan Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center, P.O. Box 488, Mashhad, Iran
c
Electronic and Mechanical Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: To analyse the off-road tyre–road contact pressure distribution as a function of inflation pressure and
Received 1 May 2008 normal load, a non-linear multi-laminated model of a tractor tyre was developed. The modelling process
Accepted 12 June 2008 is based on the 3D pressure fields obtained through the non-linear static stress analysis of a finite element
Available online 27 June 2008
(FE) tyre model, which considers the structural geometry, the anisotropic material properties of the mul-
tiple layers and the nearly incompressible property of the tread rubber block. Increased levels of tyre–
Keywords: road interface stress were found near the centre of the tyre–road model when inflation pressure was
H. Contact pressure analysis
increased and near the edge when load was increased. The peak interface pressure results showed that
B. Multi-laminated tractor tyre
G. Finite element
the greatest ratio of peak interface pressure to inflation pressure was 2.5 and the lowest ratio was
0.21. The computed tyre–road contact lengths are qualitatively compared with the measured data to
examine the validity of the model. It is concluded that the proposed model can provide reliable predic-
tions for the three-dimensional stress field in the multi-laminated system and the contact pressure dis-
tribution throughout the tractor tyre–road interface.
Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
It is well known that there is an increasing trend towards higher
traffic volume and traffic load demands on existing road and pave-
ment network systems worldwide [1,2]. These network systems
are undoubtedly recognized in the world as the necessary arteries
for the sustainable and economic growth in the regions they serve.
Therefore, it is of vital importance, not only to plan ahead for future
growth (i.e., the building of new roads), but also to invest in effi-
cient rehabilitation and upgrading policies for the preservation of
existing road networks [1,3]. The importance of road transporta-
tion has also grown worldwide, not only as a result of the develop-
ment of the infrastructure, but also in terms of the technical
development of transportation heavy vehicles.
Being allowed to travel on highways has a significant economic
advantage for off-road vehicle operators. From a highway agency’s
point of view, this presents a challenge. Predicting pavement per-
formance under normal traffic has been quite well-established,
whereas pavement performance under non-standard heavy vehi-
cles is not. Modern tractors are heavier and their load carrying
* Corresponding author. Present address: Department of Agricultural Engineer-
ing, Khorasan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center, P.O. Box 488,
Mashhad, Iran. Tel.: +985113822373.
E-mail addresses: ahmad.mohsenimanesh@ucd.ie, mohsenimanesh@yahoo.com
(A. Mohsenimanesh).
capacity is greater than previous models. Hence, the increased traf-
fic and heavier vehicles have potential to cause much more distress
to roads than ever before. However, often what is required is a ra-
tional and justifiable quantification of the impact on road perfor-
mance resulting from off-road vehicles relative to conventional
traffic [4]. Such information, when available in terms of load and
inflation pressure, can readily be used with well-established sim-
plified procedures to assess the financial impact of permitting
off-road vehicles to travel on normal roadways.
The use of variable tyre pressure technology to moderate the
impact of transportation trucks, and envirogentle routing based
on pavement serviceability and truck-load characteristics have
been identified as the optimal solutions to the management of
roads [5]. More recently, other researchers have used Central Tyre
Inflation systems to study the stresses that heavy vehicles cause as
they move on flexible roadways [6]. The effect of transportation
truck axle configuration on the structural performance of bitumi-
nous road surfacing material [7,8] and the use of information tech-
nology solutions for the routing of transportation trucks based on
minimum road maintenance models [9] have been identified as
the key areas by which operational costs may be optimised.
Studies on the potential for road damage from different shapes
of tyre patches mostly consider the tyre as having a uniform con-
tact area [10–13]. Such a methodology cannot predict the stress
distribution of tyres under different loads and inflation pressures
because the uniform vertical loads result in predominantly contact

0261-3069/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2008.06.040
 A. Mohsenimanesh et al. / Materials and Design 30 (2009) 1124–1132
stresses at the tyre centre [1]. The contact pressure between the
tyre and surface is not uniform and the tyre-pavement interface
depends on the location and relative magnitude of critical zones in-
side the tyre under different loads. Tyre–road interface stresses
have been the subject of several studies over the past 15 years,
which have resulted in several articles using either experimental
techniques or analytical models of varying complexities. The stud-
ies conducted to date [1,14–17] have led to conclusions in which
vertical contact stresses under a tyre are not uniform and the dis-
tribution of these stresses depends on a tyre’s design, load and
inflation pressure. The key to predicting the performance of an
off-road vehicle and to assessing the tyre–road interface stresses
lie in the accurate evaluation of the mechanical properties of the
tyre when subjected to varying loads and inflation pressure. There-
fore, an extremely detailed model is necessary that shows tyre
structural behaviour within it (belts, plies, rubber) for internal tyre
stress analysis. While an accurate model of the contact patch is
critical, it is very important to know the stress propagation and
the road’s response to applied stresses.
A 2D agricultural tyre was previously modelled based on the
equivalent elastic modulus considering functions of position, due
to thickness variation along the cross-section [18]. They assumed
that the bead, sidewall, tread and lugs have different elastic prop-
erties in the FE model to estimate the tyre deformation and the
normal contact pressure. Similar approaches have been also devel-
oped [19–21]. Some other methods also exist for tyre pressure dis-
tribution modelling at the tyre–road interface. A model of a
modern truck tyre on a rigid surface, which included the cord
angles in each layer, the thickness of the individual rubber layers
and the interactions between the individual anisotropic fibber lay-
ers was used in several areas of study at the Concordia Centre for
Advanced Vehicle Engineering (CONCAVE) [22,23]. Their results
showed that this model was useful for tyre–road interface
pressure.
In recent times, FE modelling of a tyre on a rigid surface has
undergone much development to study various structural aspects
of the tyres, which include inter-layer deformations and stresses.
However, most FE tyre models concern car tyres [14–16,19,24–
28] and truck tyres [1–3,5,7,11,20,22,23] Clearly, for a tractor tyre
the dimensional geometry, material properties of each layer, load-
ing and especially inflation pressure, are quite different from those
of car and truck tyres. There are still improvements to be made for
higher accuracy and reliability of tractor tyre models on a rigid sur-
face. Therefore, a model of a modern tractor tyre on a rigid surface
was developed in this present investigation with the following
objectives:
1. To develop the 3D multi-laminated model of a tractor tyre.
2. To verify the efficiency of the model with measured field
response data.
Fig. 1. The stacking sequence of the layers in the FE model: (a) carcass and (b) belts.
1125
3. To determine the effect of load and inflation pressure on contact
length, mean and peak tyre–road interface stresses.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Model of the cord-rubber ply composite
A pneumatic tractor tyre is a flexible structure in the shape of a
toroid filled with compressed air. The most important structural
elements of the tyre are the carcass and belt. They are made up
of a number of layers of flexible cords having a high modulus of
elasticity encased in a matrix of low modulus rubber compounds
and there are different anisotropic material properties for each
layer, as shown in Fig. 1. In order to model the orientations and
the geometry of cords in individual layers and the stacking se-
quence of different layers, the tread of a tractor tyre was cut into
longitudinal and transverse directions and then further dissected
into different layers for examination. The model that was devel-
oped as a result of this physical examination of a tyre considers
the orientations and the geometry of cords in individual layers
and the stacking sequence of different layers based on cord-rubber
tests. The cord angles relative to the circumferential direction in
the belts, beginning from the one nearest to the body ply, were
measured as 22°, +22°, 22°, and +22°, respectively and in the
carcass layer as 90°. The inter-ply rubber layers represent the iso-
tropic rubber medium between different belts, and between the
belt and the carcass layer. The FE type selected for analysing the
belt and carcass layers was SOLID 46, which has layer thickness,
material direction angles, and orthotropic material properties
[29]. The element possesses three degrees-of-freedom at each
node; translations along the nodal x, y and z directions. The input
for the SOLID46 element can be either in layer form or matrix
form; layer form was chosen so that the layer thickness was com-
puted by scaling the specified constant thickness inputs to ensure
consistent thickness between the nodes.
2.2. Model of the rubber material
Rubber is generally considered to be a non-linear, incompress-
ible or nearly incompressible, hyper-elastic material, which often
experiences very large deformations upon loading [22,23]. The ele-
ment selected for analysing the rubber material was HYPER185,
which was used in conjunction with the two-term Mooney–Rivlin
material model [29]. The HYPER185 element was defined by eight
nodes with three degrees-of-freedom (d.o.f.) at each node; transla-
tions along the nodal x, y and z directions. The element is applica-
ble for nearly incompressible rubber-like materials with arbitrarily
large displacements and strains. The hyper-elastic formulation is
non-linear and requires an iterative solution. The FE stiffness
matrices and force vectors relating to the element are formulated
1126 A. Mohsenimanesh et al. / Materials and Design 30 (2009) 1124–1132

using the mixed u/p (displacement/pressure) formulation. This al-

lows for the element matrices to be formed by variational princi-
ples with pressure introduced to enforce the incompressibility
constraint. The input data include eight nodes, the isotropic mate-
rial properties, and the constants defining the Mooney–Rivlin
strain energy function.

2.3. Model of the tyre–road contact

Contact is a physical interaction between bodies at their bound-

ary surfaces. In studying the contact between two bodies, the sur-
face of one body is conventionally taken as a contact surface and
the surface of the other body as a target surface. For rigid-flexible
contact, the contact surface is associated with the deformable body
(tyre); and the target surface (rigid surface) to form a contact pair.
The target and contact elements selected for analysing the contact
pair were TARGE170, and CONTA173, 4-node elements which are
available in the ANSYS element library. The target surface was sep-
arated by a set of target segments, which were coupled with their
associated contact elements and an iterative algorithm was em-
ployed to determine the contact surface and elements correspond-
ing to given loading condition. These surface-to-surface elements
are well suited for the tyre–road contact problem and support
large deformations with the various friction models [29]. The fric-
tion in the contact patch was considered to be low, assuming
smooth and uniform contacting surfaces to facilitate the solution
process. The most popular method that allows constraints result-
ing from contact to be taken into account in global FE method
equations is the augmented Lagrangian method which is employed
to solve the non-linear contact problem. The use of this method in
conjunction with the mixed FE method results provides a more
effective computational modelling procedure for tyre contact prob-
lems [30].
2.4. Assessment of the accuracy of the FE model
A mesh convergence study was conducted to determine the
accuracy of the numerical results and the mesh density used in this
analysis. The analyses were run with a series of progressively finer
FE meshes. The predicted maximum and minimum values of con-
tact pressure results were compared for each mesh until the
changes in the numerical results become sufficiently small (less
than 5%).
Fig. 2. Test specimens of belt layer on a Hounsfield machine.
skimmed by a grinding machine and eventually the prepared lay-
ers were cut into standard dog-bone test specimens using a cutting
die [ODC tooling + Molds, Ontario, Canada] and then measured on a
Hounsfield machine with four replications (Fig. 2). A second series
of tests was performed to measure cord volume fraction. Cord vol-
ume fraction is identical to the ratio of cord cross-sectional area to
the total area of cord and rubber, which also was determined for
the belt and carcass layers using a cord radius test and an optical
microscope.
2.5.2. Calculating cord-rubber material
The values of shear modulus and Poisson’s ratios in the princi-
pal directions for each individual layer were calculated using the
measured volume fraction of the cord and Young’s Modulus in x
and y principal directions [25–27]. To formulate the strain energy
density for the hyper-elastic element in the FE tyre model on a ri-
gid surface, the Mooney–Rivlin constants were used in Table 1,
referring to the data reported [30]. The validity of the estimated
cord-rubber Young’s Modulus in x and y principal directions is
Table 1
Material properties for Mooney–Rivlin material model [28]
Rubber material C10 (kPa) C01 (MPa)

2.5. Physical material properties description Tread 806.1 1.805

A radial tractor tyre, specifically a Goodyear 16.9R38 R-1 agri-

cultural tractor tyre, was selected as a common and representative
Table 2
tyre. It has one polyester cord carcass layer and four polyester cord
Measured and estimated Young’s Moduli in the principal (x) and (y) direction
belt layers in the crown area. All of these were considered in the
development of the model. The tyre model was developed using Belt Carcass
essential features of the tyre structure and cross-section geometry, Ex Ey Ex Ey
such as the number of belts and carcass layers, tread geometry, Measured 16 39 16.6 1269
section height and width, thickness of layers, number of cords Estimated 11.68 28.91 13.8 1124
and cord angles. The bead and end effects of the belts are neglected
in order to derive a more efficient model with reasonable demands
on the computer run time.

2.5.1. Cord-rubber material test Table 3

Estimated material properties and constants for the belt and carcass plies [26]
A series of cord-rubber tests were conducted in the mechanical
engineering laboratories (metallography lab) of University College Longitudinal Young’s Transverse Young’s Degree of
Dublin to measure the values of Young’s Modulus in the principal Modulus E1 Modulus E2 anisotropy E1/E2

directions for each individual layer in a 16.9R38 tractor tyre, Nylon–rubber 1124 13.8 80
according to the following procedure: part of the tyre contact patch (carcass)
Rayon–rubber 1745 13.8 125
was cut (about 400 cm2) and split into three layers separately; car-
(belt)
cass, belt, and rubber layer. Then each individual layer was
 A. Mohsenimanesh et al. / Materials and Design 30 (2009) 1124–1132 1127

Table 4 examined by comparing the measured data obtained from the

Measured constants describing the composite layers experiments performed in the laboratory, as shown in Table 2.
Volume fraction Radius of twisted Cord end count The comparison shows reasonably good agreement between the
for cords (%) cords (mm) (ends per cm) calculated and measured cord-rubber data for each individual
Belt ply 25 0.42 10 layer. The material properties and constants for the belt and car-
Body ply 24 0.44 9 cass plies are illustrated in Tables 3–9. In Tables 5 and 6, layer 1
represents the rubber medium between belt layer 1 and the tread.
Layer 1 in Tables 7 and 8 refers to the rubber layer between the
Table 5 carcass layer and the belt.
Measured material properties and constants for the belt plies

Layer Anisotropic Principal Young’s Principal Young’s Principal Young’s 2.6. Boundary condition
no. or isotropic Modulus Ex (MPa) Modulus Ey (MPa) Modulus Ez (MPa)
1, 3, Isotropic 13 13 13 The tyre model was developed by assuming that the inflated
5,
tyre is connected or fixed to the rigid rim through common nodes
7
2, 4, Anisotropic 16 39 16 on the rigid rim. The tyre model was subjected to loading in two
6, sequential steps. The initial loading was caused by the tyre infla-
8 tion pressure, which was assumed to be uniform within the tyre.
The inflated static tyre is then subjected to normal loading through
the application of a specified normal deflection of the tyre at the
Table 6 contact region.
Measured or calculated cord angle, shear modulus and Poisson’s ratio for the belt
plies [27]

Layer Cords angle h Shear modulus Poisson’s ratio Layer 3. Experimental work and model validation
no. (°) Gxy, Gyz, Gxz (MPa) mxy, myz, mxz thickness
(mm) An experiment was conducted at NewCastle, Dublin (Ireland), a
1, 3, 5, 7 – 3.21 0.49 11.5 facility of University College Dublin, to investigate the effect of
2, 6 22 Gxy = 3.21 mxy = 0.69, 0.85 tyre–road interface at different inflation pressures and loads. The
myz = 0.2
experiment was designed with two levels of load (15 and 25 kN),
Gyz = 3.21, mxz = 0.49
Gxz = 5.58 and two levels of inflation pressure (100 and 250 kPa) (Table 10).
4, 8 22 Gxy = 3.21 mxy = 0.69, 0.85 Axle loads were measured using a set of portable electronic weigh-
myz = 0.2 ing pads (Fig. 3).
Gyz = 3.21, mxz = 0.49 The second measurement was tyre contact area and tyre defor-
Gxz = 5.58
mation for the 16.9R38 tyre, which was generated from actual
measurements on a hard concrete surface. A hydraulic jack was
Table 7 used to lift the respective axle over a sheet of firm and smooth pa-
Measured material properties and constants for the carcass plies per; the contact patches for the two load categories and two exper-
imental tyre inflation pressures (100 and 250 kPa) were embossed
Layer Anisotropic or Young’s Young’s Young’s
no. isotropic modulus Ex modulus Ey modulus Ez on the paper, and the outline images were enhanced using black
(MPa) (MPa) (MPa) ink. The images were then evaluated separately and the tyre con-
1 Isotropic 11 11 11
tact lengths, width and tyre deformations (Table 10) corresponding
2 Anisotropic 1269 16.6 16.6 to the experimental tyre pressure levels of 100 and 250 kPa for
3 Isotropic 11 11 11 each load category were determined and used to evaluate the tyre
contact pressures.
To verify the tyre–road interface stresses, a similar tractor tyre
was instrumented with six miniature pressure transducers, ampli-
Table 8
Measured or calculated cord angle, shear modulus and Poisson’s ratio for the carcass fiers and a unique wireless data communication system (Figs. 4
plies and 5). The pressure sensors were located on the face of one lug
and undertread region. Due to sensitivity of the pressure transduc-
Layer Cords Shear modulus Poisson’s ratio Layer
no. angle (°) Gxy, Gyz, Gxz mxy, myz, mxz thickness ers in contacting with a rigid surface or with stones, the instru-
(MPa) (mm) mented tyre (16.9R38) was run at a constant forward speed of
1 – 3.21 0.49 1.4 0.27 m/s (approx. 1 km/h) and 23% slip under different loads and
2 90 Gxy = 3.56 mxy = 0.0054, myz = 0.49, mxz 1.8 inflation pressures on a soil surface. Although a soil surface has less
Gyz = 3.21, Gxz = 0.0054 strength than a rigid surface, the pattern of contact pressure distri-
= 3.56 bution can be compared under different loads and inflation pres-
3 – 3.21 0.49 1.4
sures. Soane and Van Ouwerkerk [31] found that by increasing
the rigidity of the surface or by moving from a soil surface towards
a rigid surface caused the contact pressures to increase. So, nodes
Table 9
corresponding to the respective location of the sensor groups lo-
Estimated elastic constants for the rubber and twisted cords in the plies [16,26]
cated at the centre, middle and edge or a tyre (Fig. 4) were selected
Rubber Twisted cord along with nodes along the length of the tyre as measured from the
Poisson’s Shear modulus G Poisson’s Shear modulus G tyre–road contact length. Nodal results were examined in the mod-
ratio m (MPa) ratio m (MPa) el corresponding to pressure transducers located at the edge, mid-
Belt 0.49 3.21 0.34 4.82 dle and centre of the tyre or at an approximate distance of 10, 100
ply and 200 mm from the tyre edge respectively. The full results of the
Body 0.49 3.21 0.34 4.82
soil–tyre interface stress measurements were reported by Mohse-
ply
nimanesh and Ward [32].
1128 A. Mohsenimanesh et al. / Materials and Design 30 (2009) 1124–1132

Table 10
Load, inflation pressure combination, tyre deformation, and measured and predicted tyre contact length

Treatment Load (kN) Inflation pressure (kPa) Normal deflection (mm) Measured mean contact length (mm) Predicted mean contact length (mm)
a
15–100 15 100 47 450 445
15–250 15 250b 20 345 360
25–100 25 100c 90 660 640
25–250 25 250a 42.5 500 520
a
Tyre was correctly inflated.
b
Tyre was overinflated in this treatment.
c
Tyre was underinflated in this treatment. This combination of load and inflation pressure is not recommended by tyre manufacturer.

Fig. 3. A portable electronic weighing pad as used in a high load and inflation Fig. 5. Instrumented tyre with new rim and flange.
pressure treatment.

combinations of inflation pressure and load. 15–100 identifies a

Fig. 4. Installed sensors on the 16.9R38 radial tyre.
4. Results and discussion
To derive vertical components of strain, contact patch geometry
and pressure distribution of the tyre under different inflation pres-
sures and loads, the same tyre used for physical experiments was
modelled on a rigid road. Analysis of the results predicted by the
FE tyre model can provide three-dimensional vertical components
of strain and contact pressure fields under different inflation pres-
sures and loading conditions. Fig. 6A–D illustrates the vertical
components of strain derived from the model for each of the four
load of 15 kN and an inflation pressure of 100 kPa. Similarly, 15–
250 refers to at load of 15 kN and inflation pressure of 250 kPa.
The other combinations simulated were 25–100 and 25–250. The
labels SMN and SMX describe the minimum and maximum strain
values of the plotted item, respectively. DMX identifies the maxi-
mum deformation (units of mm) as reported in the Graphics
window.
Inflation pressure and load affected the contact length of each
tyre position on the lug as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Increased infla-
tion pressure decreased the contact length, while increased load
increased the contact length. Comparison of the tyre length results
from field tests with the FE model showed that there was close
agreement (±4%) (Fig. 7 and Table 10). The computed variations
in contact length due to increasing normal load for different infla-
tion pressures are illustrated in Table 10, which are also in reason-
ably good agreement with the measured data. The pattern of
contact length is similar to that obtained from theoretical predic-
tion for a flexible truck tyre against a rigid surface [23]. The results
have shown that the standard matching of inflation pressure to
load also increased the contact length, and contact area of a cor-
rectly inflated tyre rather than an over inflated tyre. The soil–tyre
interface data were also used to determine the length of tyre that
was in contact with the soil. Inflation pressure and load affected
the contact length of each of the transducers on the lug under dif-
ferent loads and inflation pressures on a soil surface [32]. Increased
inflation pressure decreased contact length, while increased load
increased contact length.
Fig. 8A–D shows the tyre–road interface stress distributions
across the lug for each of the four combinations of inflation pres-
sure and load. The contact stress distributions for the 15–100 treat-
ment, in which a correct combination of load and inflation pressure
 A. Mohsenimanesh et al. / Materials and Design 30 (2009) 1124–1132 1129

Fig. 6. Vertical components of strain at each combination of load and inflation pressure for a 16.9R38 tractor tyre. (A) Load 15 kN, correct inflation pressure of 100 kPa, (B)
load 15 kN, over inflated inflation pressure of 250 kPa, (C) load 25 kN, under inflated inflation pressure of 100 kPa and (D) load 25 kN, correct inflation pressure of 250 kPa.

were used, are presented in Fig. 8A. The distribution of the stress
modelled at the tyre lug centreline position was relatively constant
along the contact patch. Such trends in contact pressure distribu-
tion have also been observed in reported experimental studies on
soil–tyre interaction [32]. The maximum stresses on each position
were between 150–160 kPa, or approximately 50% more than the
inflation pressure.
Contact stress distributions for the 15–250 treatment, which
was the over inflated treatment, are also presented (Fig. 8B). The
tyre deformation is less, so the tyre behaves more like a rigid wheel
in this over inflated treatment than in a correctly inflated treat-
ment. A comparison of the 15–100 treatment, in which the tyre
is relatively flexible (Fig. 8A), and the 15–250 treatment, in which
the tyre is more rigid (Fig. 8B), shows that increases in inflation
pressure result in increases in the maximum values of the contact
stresses. The stresses were concentrated near the centre of the tyre
and the pattern of stress distributions are similar to those pre-
dicted by theory on a flexible truck tyre [23] and tractor tyre
[17] with a rigid surface and on a flexible truck tyre with deform-
able pavement [1]. Such trends in contact pressure distribution
have also been observed in reported experimental studies on a
flexible truck tyre with deformable pavement [1] and on a flexible
tractor tyre with deformable soil [32,33]. The maximum stress val-
ues of 274 and 280 kPa, which were approximately 10% more than
the inflation pressure, occurred near the centreline of the tyre for
the middle position.
Contact stress distributions for the 25–100 treatment, which
was the under inflated treatment, are presented in Fig. 8C. Contact
1130 A. Mohsenimanesh et al. / Materials and Design 30 (2009) 1124–1132

Fig. 6 (continued)

stress distributions show stress concentrations at the edge of the
contact area, which resulted from the high proportion of the side-
wall stiffness. The pattern of stress distributions are similar to
those predicted by theory on a flexible truck tyre [23] and tractor
tyre [17] with a rigid surface and on a flexible truck tyre with a
deformable pavement [1]. Such trends in contact pressure distribu-
tion have also been observed in reported experimental studies on a
flexible truck tyre with deformable pavement [1] and on a flexible
tractor tyre with deformable soil [32,33]. The comparisons be-
tween the properly inflated tyre (Fig. 8A) and the under inflated
tyre (Fig. 8C) showed when the load was increased and inflation
pressure was maintained at 100 kPa, the stress values shift from
the centre of the lug to the edge contact patch.
Contact stress distributions for the 25–250 treatment, which
was a correct load and inflation pressure treatment, are pre-
sented in Fig. 8D. The stress distribution patterns were generally
similar to those of the over inflated treatment. The magnitudes of
stresses in the 25–250 (Fig. 8D), were generally greater than
those in the 15–250 over inflated treatment (Fig. 8B). The maxi-
mum normal stress value of 300 and 350 kPa occurred at the
centre and middle of tyre position across the contact patch,
respectively. Such trends in contact pressure distribution have
also been observed in reported experimental studies on soil–tyre
interaction [32].
Peak values of contact pressures on the lug for each combina-
tion of load and inflation pressure are shown in Table 11. The peak
interface pressure results show that the greatest ratio of peak
interface pressure to inflation pressure was 2.5, occurring for the
tyre position at the edge of the tread for the 25–100 treatment.
The lowest ratio was 0.21 and occurred at the edge of the tread
 A. Mohsenimanesh et al. / Materials and Design 30 (2009) 1124–1132 1131

Fig. 7. Comparison of computed footprints from the FE model and experimental data showing (A) load 25 kN, under inflated inflation pressure of 100 kPa and (B) load 15 kN,
over inflated inflation pressure of 250 kPa.

Fig. 8. Mean distributions of contact pressures on the lug face at each combination of load and inflation pressure for a 16.9R38 tractor tyre. (A) Load 15 kN, correct inflation
pressure of 100 kPa, (B) load 15 kN, over inflated inflation pressure of 250 kPa, (C) load 25 kN, under inflated inflation pressure of 100 kPa and (D) load 25 kN, correct inflation
pressure of 250 kPa.
1132 A. Mohsenimanesh et al. / Materials and Design 30 (2009) 1124–1132
Table 11
Peak tyre–road interface in kPa and ratio of peaks to the tyre inflation pressure
Tyre position 15–100 15–250
Peak (kPa) Ratio Peak (kPa)
Edge 146 1.46 53
Middle 144 1.44 264
Centre 119 1.19 220
Edge, middle and centre are lug interface pressure position at the edge of tread, at the middle of the lug and near the centreline of the tyre, respectively.
for the 15–250 treatment. Such trends in the ratio of peak interface
pressure to inflation pressure have also been observed in reported
experimental studies on soil–tyre interaction [32].
5. Conclusions
1. A non-linear multi-laminated FE model such as has been devel-
oped in the present investigation is a significant step forward in
the material analysis and design for tractor tyres. This model is
freely available for research purposes upon request to the corre-
sponding author.
2. Tyre contact length and mean stress distributions reflected the
effect of tyre inflation pressure more than load on a rigid sur-
face. Road damage would be reduced if contact stresses are
not concentrated at a tyre centreline.
3. Based on adequately measured geometric and material proper-
ties, the model is able to provide reliable stress fields in the
tyre–road stress under a wide range of normal loads and infla-
tion pressures.
References
[1] De Beer M, Fisher C, Jooste F. Determination of pneumatic tyre/pavement
interface contact stresses under moving loads and some effects on pavements
with thin asphalt surfacing layers. In: 8th international conference on asphalt
pavements, Seattle, WA, USA; 1997. p. 179–226.
[2] Huhtala M, Pihljamaki J, Pienimaki M. Effects of tyres and tyre pressures on
road pavements. Transportation Research record 1227. Washington (DC):
Transportation research Board; 1989. p. 107–14.
[3] Cebon D. Handbook of vehicle–road interaction. Lisse, The Netherlands: Swets
and Zeitlinger B.V.; 2000.
[4] Siddharthan RV, Sebaaly PE, El-Desouky M, Strand D, Huft D. Heavy off-road
vehicle tyre-pavement interactions and response. J Transport Eng ASCE
2005;131:239–47.
[5] Owende PMO, Hartman AM, Ward SM, Gilchrist MD, O’Mahony MJ. Minimizing
distress on flexible pavements using variable tire pressure. J Transport Eng
ASCE 2001;127(3):254–62.
[6] Douglas RA, Woodward WDH, Woodside AR. Road contact stresses and forces
under tires with low inflation pressure. Can J Civil Eng 2000;27:1248–58.
[7] Hartman AM, Gilchrist MD, Owende PMO, Ward SM, Clancy F. In-situ
accelerated testing of bituminous mixtures. Int J Road Mater Pavement Des
2002;2(4):337–57.
[8] Gilchrist MD, Hartman AM, Owende PMO, Ward SM. Full scale accelerated
testing of bituminous road pavement mixtures. Key Eng Mater 2001:443–52.
[9] Martin AM, Owende PMO, Holden NM, Ward SM, O’Mahony MJ. Designation of
timber extraction routes in a GIS using road maintenance cost data. Forest
Prod 2001;51(10):32–8.
25–100 25–250
Ratio Peak (kPa) Ratio Peak (kPa) Ratio
0.21 250 2.5 194 0.77
1.05 73 0.73 353 1.43
0.88 142 1.42 299 1.19
[10] Hadi MNS, Bodhinayake BC. Non linear finite element analysis of flexible
pavements. Adv Eng Soft 2003;34(3):657–62.
[11] Hua J, white TA. Study of nonlinear tire contact pressure effects on HMA
rutting. Int J Geomech 2002;2(3):353–76.
[12] Akbulut H, Aslantas K. Finite element analysis of stress distribution on
bituminous pavement and failure mechanism. Mater Design 2005;26:383–7.
[13] Mulungye RM, Owende PMO, Mellon K. Finite element modelling of flexible
pavements on soft soil subgrades. Mater Design 2007;28:739–56.
[14] Akasaka T, Katoh M, Nihei S, Hiraiwa M. Two dimensional contact pressure
distribution of a radial tire. Tire Sci Technol 1990;18(2):80–103.
[15] Trinko MJ. Ply and stresses and contact forces for a loaded radial tire. Tire Sci
Technol 1984;11(1–4):20–38.
[16] Tielking TJ. A finite element tire model. Tire Sci Technol 1984;11(1–4):50–63.
[17] Mohsenimanesh A, Ward SM. Tractor tyre–road and tyre–soil interactions
model using ANSYS. In: McNulty P, Holden NM, editors. Biosystems
engineering research review. Ireland: University College Dublin; 2007. p.
33–137.
[18] Hu YK, Abeels PFJ. Agricultural tire deformation in the 2D case by finite
element methods. J Terramech 1994;31(6):353–70.
[19] Burke A, Olatunbosun OA. New techniques in tyre modal analysis using MSC/
NASTRAN. Int J Vehicle Design 1997;18(2):203–12.
[20] Darnell I, Hulbert GM, Mousseau CW. An efficient three-dimensional tire
model for vehicle dynamics simulations. Mech Struct Mach 1997;25(1):1–19.
[21] Shoop SA. Finite element modelling of tire-terrain interaction. ERDC/CRREL/
TR-01-16/ Technical report. Army Corps of Engineers, US; 2001.
[22] Zhang X, Rakheja S, Ganesan R. Estimation of tire-road contact pressure
distribution based on non-linear finite element analysis. Int J Vehicle Design
2001;8(3–4):197–217.
[23] Zhang X, Rakheja S, Ganesan R. Stress analysis of the multi-layered system of a
truck tire structure. Tire Sci Technol 2002;30(4):240–64.
[24] Kim Y, Saleeb AF, Chang TYP. Implementation of material stiffness coefficients
in finite element applications to rubber. Tire Sci Technol 1994;22(4):223–41.
[25] Ridha RA, Clark SK. Tire stress and deformation. In: Clark SK, editor. Mechanics
of pneumatic tires. Washington: Department of Transportation; 1981. p.
475–540.
[26] Walter JD. Cord reinforced rubber. In: Clark SK, editor. Mechanics of
pneumatic tires. Washington: Department of Transportation; 1981. p. 123–78.
[27] Takeyama T, Matsui J, Hijiri M. Tire cord and cord to rubber bonding. In: Clark
SK, editor. Mechanics of pneumatic tires. Washington: Department of
Transportation; 1981. p. 37–122.
[28] Tönük E, Ünlüsoy YS. Prediction of automobile tire cornering force
characteristics by finite element modelling and analysis. Comput Struct
2001;79(13):1219–32.
[29] ANSYS, Version 11. ANSYS theory manual 2007. ANSYS, Inc. USA.
[30] Knothe K, Wille R, Zastrau BW. Advanced contact mechanics road and rail.
Vehicle Syst Dynam 2001;35:361–407.
[31] Tijink FGJ. Quantification of vehicle running gear. In: Soane BD, Van
Ouwerkerk C, editors. Soil compaction in crop production. Amsterdam,
Netherland: Elsevier; 1994. p. 391–416.
[32] Mohsenimanesh A, Ward SM. On-the-move monitoring of soil-tire interaction
on soft soil using wireless data acquisition. Trans ASAE 2007;50(6):1919–25.
[33] Jun H, Kishimoto T, Way TR, Taniguchi T. Three-directional contact stress
distributions for a pneumatic tractor tire in soft soil. Trans ASAE
1998;41(5):1237–42.