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Simulation and Test Correlation of Wheel Radial Fatigue Test

Conference Paper · April 2013

DOI: 10.4271/2013-01-1198

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Simulation and Test Correlation of Wheel Radial 2013-01-1198

Published
Fatigue Test 04/08/2013

Mohammed Billal K
Chrysler India Automotive Pvt Ltd

Thomas Oery
Chrysler Technology Center

Raghuraman Taruvai Sankaran and Anilkumar S Nesarikar

Chrysler India Automotive Pvt Ltd

Copyright © 2013 SAE International

doi:10.4271/2013-01-1198

followed by fatigue life estimation. The accuracy of CAE

ABSTRACT results majorly depend on parameters like tire modeling,
The Radial fatigue test is intended to find the structural simulation methods, load applications etc. This paper
performance of a wheel for normal highway use on passenger describes the tire representation, validation of tire model as a
cars, light trucks and multipurpose vehicles. The wheel has to standalone part, radial fatigue test and correlation of stress
withstand repeated radial loading for a defined number of values with laboratory test results.
cycles in order to pass the test. The fatigue life of a wheel
subjected to the repeated loading is calculated from the stress TIRE CONSTRUCTION
values obtained from static analysis. The accuracy of stress
Tire plays a vital role as a medium to transfer the load from
value depends on various parameters like tire modeling,
the loading drum to the wheel during radial fatigue test. The
simulation methods, load applications etc. This paper
tire modeling is a complex task, which involves different
describes the tire finite element model representation and its
components to be modeled correctly with their respective
validation, radial fatigue test simulation process and the
material properties. Different components of tire are shown in
physical testing correlation. Tire vertical stiffness plays a
Figure 1. Tread is in direct contact with the road surface and
vital role in the radial test as the tire transfers the load from
provides the traction. The side-wall on the tire bridges the
driven drum to the wheel. Tire vertical spring rate testing is
tread and the bead. It provides lateral stability for the tire and
done as per the SAE J2704 standard and the same condition
protects the body plies while keeping the air from escaping.
has been simulated in CAE. The tire material properties are
The tire is in contact with the wheel at the bead region at the
tweaked to match the vertical stiffness test curve. The radial
lower portion of the side wall. The beads are reinforced with
fatigue test is simulated in static condition as per SAE J328
steel wire. The radial tires have steel belts, which reinforces
standard using the validated tire model. Simulation stress
the area under the tread and provides the puncture resistance,
values close to the lab strain gauge measurements and thus
which helps the tire to stay flat, while in contact with the
giving confidence in predicting the life estimates of the
road. The body plies are made up of several layers of fabric
Wheel.
using polyester cord, which runs perpendicular to the tread
and is coated with rubber to help them bond with other
INTRODUCTION components. The tread and sidewall are also made of rubber;
The Cast Aluminum wheel intended for use on normal the belts and the bead wire are made of steel [1]
highways has to pass three major tests; Corner Fatigue Test
(CFT), Radial Fatigue Test (RFT) and Impact Test. In CAE
the stress level is calculated from static analysis which is
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Test Setup - SAEJ2704

The setup consists of a fixture for mounting the inflated tire
and wheel rim assembly at the rim hub and then a plate for a
representing a flat simulated road surface which will be used
to apply normal force on the tire.

Finite Element Analysis

The Force-Deflection (FD) curve from the tire specification is
used as reference for performing this analysis. Abaqus-
Implicit solver is used to carry out the non-linear static
analysis. The wheel is constructed with second order
tetrahedral elements and the tire is constructed using
hexahedral and beam elements as described in the earlier
section. This analysis is simulated in two steps: the first step
for the tire inflation and the second step for the normal force
loading on the tire. For loading, a rigid surface (road surface
representation) is modeled using an analytical surface.

Figure 1. Tire Components [1] Loads & Boundary Conditions

The wheel rim is fixed at its five bolt holes. The sliding
contact is defined between the rigid surface, tire and the
Tire Finite Element Model wheel. Load is applied on the rigid surface (simulating the
The tire used in the test is a 17 inch tubeless radial tire. The road) to load the tire vertically as shown in Figure 3.
finite element model is constructed using hexahedral and
beam elements. The hexahedral elements represent the tread,
side wall and the bead wire. Net shaped beam elements
represent the body ply and beam elements in the hoop
direction represent the belts as shown in Figure 2. The rubber
linear material properties are used for the tread and side wall,
Steel is used for the bead wire and belt and Polyester material
is used for the body plies [1].

Figure 3. Tire Vertical Loading

Analysis Steps
1. Step 1: Tire inflation. The tire pressure is applied inside
Figure 2. Finite Element model of Tire [1] the Tire and Wheel.
2. Step 2: Vertical Load. The vertical enforced displacement
TIRE VERTICAL STIFFNESS TEST is applied on the rigid surface to load the tire vertically
The SAEJ2704 [2] is recommended practice which describes downwards.
the test method for determining the static stiffness of a tire.
Observations
In initial analysis, the CAE stiffness curve (FD Curve) was
found deviating more with the tire vertical stiffness test
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curve. After by adjusting the rubber moduli, the CAE FD
curve is matched with the tire test curve with 4% of deviation
as shown in Figure 4. From this study, it is inferred that the
way of tire FE modeling holds good for radial loading [1].
Radial Fatigue Laboratory Test
Radial Fatigue Loading Machine is designed as per the SAE
specifications. There are nine strain gauges mounted on the
wheel rim regions and these locations are selected from the
initial CAE simulation at zero degree (loading opposite to the
inflation hole). Four strain gauges are mounted at the section
A, four strain gauges mounted at the section B and one strain
gauge is mounted at location ‘E’ as shown in Figure 6a, 6c &
6d. Testing is done in static condition for zero degree, +15
degree and +30 degree as shown in Figure 6b. The stress
readings are recorded on the strain gauge after tire inflation
and radial loading at the three positions of the wheel as
shown in Figure 6b.

Figure 4. Comparison of Tire F-D Curve: FE vs. Test [1]

RADIAL FATIGUE TEST

The SAE recommended practice is to establish minimum
performance requirements and uniform procedures for fatigue
testing of wheels intended for normal highway use on
passenger cars, light trucks, and multipurpose vehicles.

Test Setup - SAE J-328[3]

Figure 6a. Strain Gauge Locations

Figure 5. Radial Fatigue Test Setup [3]

Tire is mounted on the wheel and inflated to the test pressure.

The wheel tire assembly is bolted to the adaptor prescribed
and bolts are tightened to the required torque. The wheel and
adaptor assembly is mounted on stationary fixture through the
bearings. So the wheel assembly is free to rotate with respect
to the fixture. A driven revolving drum is placed parallel to
the wheel assembly as shown in Figure 5. The rotational axis
of the drum and wheel are parallel. The drum is pressed
against the tire and imparts a constant radial load on the
wheel and drives the wheel. As the wheel is rotated by the
revolving drum, the wheel rim experiences the alternate Figure 6b. Wheel positions
bending.
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The material of the wheel is cast aluminum A356. The

adaptor bolts and nuts were constructed using hexahedral
elements. The driven drum is modeled using the analytical
surface. Abaqus-Implicit solver is used to perform the non-
linear static analysis.

Figure 6c. Strain Gauges at Section A and B

Figure 8. Wheel Finite Element Model

Loading and Boundary Condition

Boundary Conditions
The bearing contact region in the adaptor model is fixed. The
sliding contact conditions are defined between the interfaces
of the wheel, tire, adaptor, bolts drum and nuts. The tie
contact is defined between the bolts and the adaptor.
Figure 6d. Strain Gauge at “E” location
Bolt Preload
Finite Element Model The bolt preload plays a vital role in radial fatigue test in
The finite element model consists of the wheel-tire assembly, order to capture the failure in the wheel mounting hole
driven drum, adaptor, bolts and nuts as shown in Figure 7. regions. Due to the bolt preload, the wheel mounting regions
are subjected to initial compressive force. The preload torque
T and a nut factor k are taken from the standard. The
pretension force is calculated from equation (1),

(1)

Figure 7. Finite Element Model

The FE model of wheel is constructed using higher order

tetrahedral elements with an average element length of 4mm
and a minimum element length is 2mm as shown in Figure 8.
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Tire Inflation Load The radial load is applied in static condition through the
Tire inflation pressure of 60 psi is applied in wheel and tire as driven drum, which is constructed using the analytical
shown in the Figure 9. surface. The analysis is done for zero degree, +15 degree, and
+30 degree of wheel positions as shown in Figure 6b.

Results and Discussions

The measurement is done at two stages: the tire inflation
loading and radial loading. From the laboratory radial fatigue
test (in static condition), the maximum principal stress, the
minimum principal stress and von-mises stress are measured
on the nine strain gauges on wheel (Refer Figure 6(a), 6(c)
and 6(d)) at two stages after the tire inflation and then at the
wheel positions (zero degree, +15 degree and +30 degree)
(Refer Figure 6(b)).The Figure 10 and 11 shows the tire and
the rim deflection after the tire inflation. From the rim
deformation (figure 11), it is observed that the more bending
is occur at the strain gauge location A1/B1 and in testing also,
the compressive stress is higher in these locations. At the
Figure 9. Tire Inflation strain gauge location A3/B3 the elongation is more the
bending, so the tensile stress is higher at these location. The
figure 12 shows the stress (Vonmises, Max. and Mini.
Analytical Procedures Principle Stress) value comparison between the laboratory
The radial fatigue test in static condition is simulated by test results versus the CAE, after the tire inflation.
applying the sequential load of the bolt preload, tire inflation
and the radial load.

1. Step 1: Bolt preload. The bolt preload equivalent to bolt

tightening Torque: 150Nm is applied.
2. Step 2: Tire inflation. The tire pressure of 35 PSI is
applied inside the Tire and Wheel.
3. Step 3: Radial Fatigue. The radial load applied to the
wheel is determined by using following equation (2),

(2)

Figure 10. Tire Deflection -Before and After Tire

Maximum of F (front/rear) is determined by using following
Inflation
equation (3),

(3)

Figure 11. Wheel Rim Deflection in Z-Direction - Before

and After Tire Inflation (Scale 1:50)
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Figure 15. Stress Comparison Test Vs CAE (Loading at

Figure 12. Stress Comparison Test Vs CAE (After Tire Zero Degree of Wheel Position)
Inflation)

The figure 13 and 14 shows the tire assembly and rim

deformed shapes before and after the radial loading in CAE.
The figure 15, 16 and 17 shows the stress (Vonmises, Max.
and Mini. Principle Stress) value comparison between the test
and the CAE, after the radial loading at wheel 0°, +15° and
+30° positions. The stress values (Refer Figure 12, 15, 16 and
17) and the directions (tensile and compressive components
from Max. and Min. Principal Stress) in CAE are close to the
test results for tire inflation and the radial loading at different
wheel positions.

Figure 16. Stress Comparison Test Vs CAE (Loading at

+15 Degree of Wheel Position)

Figure 13. Deformed Shape: Before and After Loading

Figure 14. Wheel Rim Deflection in Z-Direction - After Figure 17. Stress Comparison Test Vs CAE (Loading at
inflation and Radial Loading (Scale 1:15) +30 Degree of Wheel Position)
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CONCLUSION
This paper presents a methodology to simulate the wheel
radial fatigue in static condition. The stress (compressive and
tensile) predicted by the CAE simulation is close to the
laboratory test (as per SAE J-328) and it gives more
confidence for the fatigue life calculation. The most critical
aspects of the methodology are; the Tire FE representation
and the bolt preload simulation.

REFERENCES
1. K., M., S., V., Nesarikar, A., “Simulation and Test
Correlation of Wheel Impact Test,” SAE Technical Paper
2011-28-0129, 2011, doi:10.4271/2011-28-0129.
2. SAE International Surface Vehicle Recommended
Practice, “Tire Normal Force/Deflection and Gross Footprint
Dimension Test,” SAE Standard J2704, Issued Jan. 2005.
3. SAE International Surface Vehicle Recommended
Practice, “Wheels - Passenger Car and Light Truck
Performance Requirements and Test Procedures,” SAE
Standard J328, Rev. Feb. 2005.
4. Wang Liangmo, Chen Yufa, Wang Chenzhi, “Fatigue Life
Analysis of Aluminum Wheels by Simulation of Rotary
Fatigue Test”, Journal of Mechanical Engineering,
57(2011)1, 31-39.
5. ABAQUS User's Manual 6.10 Version, 2010.

DEFINITIONS/ABBREVIATIONS
RFT - Radial Fatigue Test
CFT - Corner Fatigue Test
FD curve - Force versus Deflection curve
CAE - Computer Aided Engineering
FE - Finite Element

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