INFLUENCE OF TREAD WEAR IRREGULARITY ON WET FRICTION PERFORMANCE OF TIRES

The reduction in wet skidding resistance with reduced tire tread pattern depth on road surfaces possessing low macrotexture is well understood. With the dominance of radial tire construction, with its inherently higher abrasion resistance, automobile tires are often observed to be removed from the vehicle in an irregularly worn condition rather than the regularly worn condition that has been the subject of previous work. This paper describes tire measurements using indoor and outdoor test facilities for a range of tires that includes the most common irregularly worn conditions: those of two-shoulder and one-shoulder wear, center wear, and the increasingly less observed uniform wear. The correlation between test methods is discussed and observed differences in tire friction characteristics with wear type explained. The stability of the vehicle under low friction conditions is an additional factor in the accident mode situation; the influence on vehicle stability due to irregular tire wear and that provoked by changing the position of part-worn tires on the vehicle is also discussed.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Frictional Interaction of Tire and Pavement. A symposium sponsored by ASTM Committee E-17 on Traveled Surface Characteristics and F-9 on Tires, Akron-Fairlawn, Ohio, 11-13 November 1981.
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

  100 Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box C700
  West Conshohocken, PA  United States  19428-2957
• Authors:
  • WILLIAMS, A R
  • Evans, M S
• Publication Date: 1983

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 41-64
• Serial:
  • ASTM Special Technical Publications
  • Publisher: American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Moisture content; Motor vehicles; Performance; Rolling contact; Skid resistance; Stability (Mechanics); Texture; Tire treads; Tires; Wear
• Uncontrolled Terms: Wet conditions
• Subject Areas: Highways; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00380972
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: STP 793, HS-035 394, HS-035 395
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 30 1984 12:00AM