Numerical investigation of hydroplaning characteristics of three-dimensional patterned tire

Hydroplaning characteristics of patterned tire on wet road are investigated by making use of finite volume and finite element methods. A detailed 3-D patterned tire model is constructed by our in-house modeling program and the rainwater flow is considered as incompressible and inviscid. Meanwhile, the fluid–structure interaction between the highly complicated tire tread and the rainwater flow is effectively treated by the general coupling method. Through the numerical experiments, the rainwater flow drained through tire grooves, hydrodynamic pressure and contact force are investigated and compared with those of the three-grooved tire model.