Finite element analysis of aircraft tyre - effect of model complexity on tyre performance characteristics

A brief study on the complexity of the structure of aircraft tyres is presented in this paper. The main goal is to investigate how complexity of FE models of the tyre can affect the simulation behaviour with respect to accurate prediction of real tyre behaviour. Three FE models, so called “Simple”, “Regular” and “Complex” are developed for this investigation so that the accuracy of results obtained from the models for different types of analysis can be determined in comparison with measured test data. For all the simulations carried out, including tyre burst test and tyre inflation, hyper-elastic material property is assumed for modelling rubber and cord materials, using the Yeoh model [1]. Simulations are performed using Abaqus/CAE for 2D analysis and Abaqus command line for 3D simulation of tyre inflation. Physical tests were carried out on two tyres for FE model validation in terms of tyre burst test and profile sizing measurements. The results show excellent accuracy in terms of deformation in FE models in comparison with real sizing measurements of tyre profile. Also, a quite good prediction of tyre burst pressure under high inflation is obtained for the different models. Finally, the investigation showed that while maximum stress in reinforcement cords and maximum tyre deflection at rated inflation pressure, are fairly insensitive to varying the mesh size in the FE models, maximum stress in the rubber components is particularly sensitive to such mesh size variation.