Parametric study of tire pavement contact under dynamic traffic loads

This work centers on the development of a three-dimensional tire– pavement interaction model in order to study the distribution of contact stresses, for future use in mechanistic analysis of pavement behavior. Using the finite element method within the Abaqus code, a longitudinal tread tire and an elastic asphalt pavement were modeled. The contact area and stress distribution were simulated under steady-state, rolling, and braking conditions, incorporating dynamic traffic loads. Pavement roughness was analyzed by considering different friction coefficients, and a parametric study was conducted on tire inflation pressure and rolling speed. Moreover, the study examined the effect of pavement geometry by considering different road camber and rut depth. The findings indicate that both inflation pressure and tire friction coefficient significantly influence the 3D contact stress distribution as well as the road camber and rut depth.