The in-plane deformation of a tire carcass: Analysis and measurement

The deformation of parts of a tire is the direct result of tire–road interactions, and therefore is of great interest in tire sensor development. This case study focuses on the analysis of the deformation of the tire carcass and investigates its potential for the estimation of the in-plane tire force. The deformation of the tire carcass due to applied steady-state in-plane forces is first analyzed with the flexible ring model and then validated through optical tire sensor measurements. Coupled deformations of the tire carcass in the radial and tangential directions are observed. This reveals a promising method for tire sensing applications in the estimation of the in-plane tire force, which relies only on direct measurements of the radial deformation of the tire carcass. Moreover, indicators are proposed to correlate the radial deformation of the tire carcass with in-plane tire forces.