EXPERIMENTAL-VERIFICATION OF A FINITE-ELEMENT CONTACT ANALYSIS

A three-dimensional viscoelastic finite element analysis fully described elsewhere was developed by the authors to study the skid resistance of road pavements. This paper describes an experimental procedure developed to verify the validity of the results predicted by the viscoelastic finite element analysis. Description is given of a variable speed pendulum to measure the skid resistance of pavement samples in the laboratory. The method used to measure the elastic and viscoelastic properties of the rubber is then outlined. From the comparison of measured values with the theoretical predictions it is concluded that the theory predicted the sliding friction of rubber reasonably well. This experimental procedure combined with the viscoelastic analysis can be used effectively to study the tire/pavement interaction problem.