VISCOELASTIC LINEAR AND NONLINEAR ANALYSIS OF STEADY STATE ROLLING RUBBER WHEELS: A COMPARISON

Abstract

ABSTRACT The influence of a linear viscoelastic model (A) and a nonlinear viscoelastic model (B) for the representation of the temperature-, time- and amplitude-dependent behavior of steady state rolling rubber wheels (e.g., tires) is discussed and highlighted through the example of a so-called Grosch wheel. A viscoelastic benchmark material at large strains is proposed and represented with the help of model A and model B, where equality between the two models is obtained for the small strain regime. The model parameters are given in detail. To represent the steady state motion of axisymmetric rubber wheels, the Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) framework is used within the finite element method (FEM). First, the simulation approach and the results for steady state rolling viscoelastic axisymmetric rubber wheels are verified by a comparison with the solution results of a commercial simulation approach for linear viscoelasticity at isothermal conditions. Second, the simulation results using model A and model B are compared to highlight the influence of nonlinear relaxation characteristics. Third, temperature effects are assessed based on a thermo-mechanically coupled simulation approach. Finally, the results for models A and B are compared to assess advantages and disadvantages of the model approaches and their significance for the representation of the temperature-, time- and amplitude-dependent material behavior. As global objective quantities, the temperature rise due to rolling and the rolling loss power, as well as the vertical stiffness and the stress state in the rubber component under investigation, are computed and compared.