Mechanics of Elastic Wheel Rolling on Rigid Drum

At present, evaluation of rolling resistance of automobile tires, as well as the determination of the coefficient of resistance to lateral diversion, is carried out on drum stands. Testing cars on drum stands of various designs is also becoming increasingly common. However, there is no research in the literature considering the mechanics of interaction of an elastic wheel with a drum and its kinematic and force characteristics, which has defined the tasks of this study. The research is based on the fact that with steady rolling, the wheel surface elements entering the contact zone are not yet "prepared" to perceive the tangential force and at the same time pressed to the base by the normal force, start moving without slipping, while obtaining tangential displacement. As the coupled elements of the wheel and the support base move in the reversed mechanism in the contact zone, their tangential displacements increase, and therefore, the tangential friction force between the coupled elements also increases. In the place of contact, where the increased friction force reaches the ultimate in adhesion, there happens a breakdown, and on the entire part of the contact located behind the point of breakdown, a slip occurs. Based on this, the authors determine the coordinate of the areas of adhesion and slip in the contact of a wheel with a drum, relative loss of speed of the wheel, the tangential force acting in the contact, the torque on the wheel, power of friction loss in the contact, and the hysteresis loss of the wheel.