An Investigation of the Slip of a Tire Tread

Abstract Tire performance such as handling, noise, traction, wear, etc., is determined ultimately in the tire footprint. The nature of the distribution of the contact stresses within the tire footprint determine whether or not the tire tread adheres to the road or slips relative to the road surface. Loss of adhesion between the tire tread and the road can be extreme as in gross slippage resulting in the loss of vehicle control or it can be subtle as in the small magnitude slippage that promotes treadwear. This paper presents results from an experimental characterization of the slip between the tread of a free‐rolling tire and a simulated road surface. Trajectories of discrete points on the tread surface were measured from the entrance to the exit of the footprint and were used to calculate the total slip of each point. The relationship between the average slip of the tire and toe angle was established. Also, the relationship between toe, camber, and the distribution of tread slip and velocity across the tire footprint, was investigated in this paper.