Research on the Relaxation and Creep Characteristics of Tread Rubber Based on Thermal and Mechanical Coupling

The viscoelasticity of the tread rubber material directly affects the performance of the tire. Therefore, this paper studied the viscoelasticity based on the tread rubber. First, a Yeoh constitutive model to characterize the mechanical properties is established, and the factors affecting the viscoelasticity of rubber are analyzed. Second, the coupled thermoelastic equation and geometric model of the tire are established by the thermal-mechanical method, and its periodic stress loading history is fitted by Fourier sine series. The mathematical function expression among strain, temperature, and frequency is established to obtain the hysteresis temperature rise of the tread rubber block. Finally, the viscoelastic properties of rubber materials at different temperatures are studied. The results show that the storage modulus of rubber decreases with the increase of temperature. After the temperature exceeds 60°C, the storage modulus tends to be stable, and the longitudinal sliding stiffness and cornering stiffness of the tire decrease. Moreover, the temperature of the tread increases as the slip rate and slip angle increase, showing hysteresis.