Compurers & S~ucrures Vol. 64, No. 5/6, pp.

I lSS1164, 1997
0 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
Pergamon Printed in Great Britain
PII: SOO45-7949(97)00024-2 004%7949/97 Sl7.00 + 0.00

SIMULATION OF THE AQUAPLANE PROBLEM

M. Arnindak and I. Grajciar
University of Transport and Communications, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of
Mechanics and Strength of Materials, 010 26, iilina V. diel, Slovakia

Abstract-Finite-element analysis (FEA) has been widely integrated into the tire design process as a useful
numerical tool for the investigation of various behavioural conditions of tires during their service life.
Recently, much interest has been directed towards the contact of a tire with a water layer together with
steering and braking capability (especially for the landing of airplanes). In this paper, we present several
possibilities for the modeling of aquaplane problems with the ADINA system. The solution results, which
relate to the character of fluid-flow pressure distribution and lift forces obtained by the steady-state
analysis, yield important information for tire design. The water under the tire is considered to be an
isothermal incompressible fiuid and the tire structure is considered a deformable body. 0 1997 Elsevier
Science Ltd.

1. INTRODUCTION test and plunger-energy test in order to check

Over the past ten years, finite-element analysis
(FEA) has been increasingly integrated into the tire
design process. FEA has been used to study the
general tire behaviour, to perform parameter studies
and to perform comparative analyses. The finite-
element method represents a useful numerical tool
in evaluating the ultimate strength of tires since it can
realistically model the geometry, loading, boundary
conditions and material properties of a loaded tire.
Finite element techniques have been used extensively
in designing new tires and in improving existing tire
designs by evaluating tire performance.
A number of papers have been written on
computational models for tires, see Ref. [l]. In
this work, the author’s discussion focuses on a
number of aspects of tire modeling and analysis,
including tire materials and their characterization,
evaluation of tire models, characteristics of effective
finite-element models for analysing tires, analysis
need for tires and the impact of the advances in
finite-element technology, computational algorithms
and new computing systems for tire modeling and
analysis. In general, the three-dimensional finite-
element analysis of tires requires a lot of computing
time because of the complex nature of the problem.
Major sources of complexity are, for example,
nonlinearities in kinematics, material properties,
boundary conditions and the multilayer structure
which is inherent to the tire. One of the ways of
overcoming this situation can be in the modeling
strategy. Considering Ref. [2], the authors investi-
gate the accuracy of a solution and show that
the massively parallel processing (MPP) potential
offers a solution to overcome computational limi-
tations.
The authors in Ref. [3] performed destructive tire
tests, burst-pressure test, high-speed free-rotation
the ultimate strength of new tires. A nonlinear
incompressible rubber model and a nonlinear
cord-rubber composite model were used in the
analyses. Various rubbers in the cord-rubber
composite were modeled as nonlinear incompress-
ible Mooney-Rivlin materials. The bimodulus cord
and the cord-angle change effect due to deformation
were also considered. In Ref. [4], an approach is
described in which the cord-rubber composite
components of the tire are modeled by membrane
elements. The number of nodes required in the tire
model using this strategy is considerably reduced,
without any loss of accuracy, when compared with
models in which only ordinary solid elements are
used.
Recently, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has
been used in tire analysis. Interesting problems have
been considered regarding the numerical simulation
of water flow around the tire (Fig. 6). When such
problems are connected with car motion over a water
layer on a road and the associated lift acting for a
specific water depth, the progressive loss of contact
with increasing speed is measured as an indicator of
the tire’s performance. We call this phenomen the
aquaplane problem or dynamic hydroplaning. As the
speed increases, the fast ejection of the water becomes
critical. The friction force at the tire-road interface
during hydroplaning is reduced dramatically, so the
steering and bracing capability of the vehicle is lost.
Hydroplaning occurs when the hydrodynamic lift
force equals the weight of the tire plus the tire load,
or alternatively when the hydrodynamic pressure
equals the contact pressure of the tire in the
contact footprint. There are a few mathematical and
numerical studies to predict dynamic hydroplaning.
The complicated description of the free surface of the
forming water flow when the tire strikes a water

1155
1156 M. pmindak and I. Grajciar
puddle creates many problems in numerical model-
ing.
One of the possible approaches to overcome these
problems is presented in [5]. A simple mathematical
two-phase model is used to describe the shape of
the free surface of the water flowing around the
automobile tire. The water flow around the tire is
considered to be incompressible and fully turbulent.
All equations-the fluid equations and the volume
fraction-are discretized by the finite-volume method
(FVM). The effect of tire deformation during
hydroplaning is neglected. In Ref. [6], a finite-volume
method for the simulation of the combined flow of air
and fluid with large density differences in regions is
described; here too, the effect of tire deformation is
neglected.
In the current study, we are proposing another
model for the simulation of the fluid flow while taking
into account a deformable tire structure. We are
aware of some shortcomings in our model but we
believe that our approach represents a good way to
proceed with a numerical simulation of the aquaplane
problem.
2. MATHEMATICAL MODEL
2.1. Governing equations
The governing equations for viscous incompress-
ible fluid flows are obtained from the principles of the
conservation of mass and momentum, and the
balance of energy. In vector notation, the equations
are in conservative form [7]:
g + V(F - G) = S (1)
where
where v = velocity (=v,i + cj + v,k) and r = the
stress tensor (T = - pI + 2&v)) where p = the
pressure in the fluid, p = the dynamic viscosity and
I = the identity matrix. In addition,
e(v) = ;(vv + (Vv)‘) (3)
is the tensor of the rate deformation (the velocity
gradient). In addition, V ( = d/axi + a/+j + a/dzk)
is the gradient; q ( = - LVT) is the heat flux; k
( = rk, kJ kZJ) is the diagonal matrix of the thermal
conductivities corresponding to the principal axes x,
y and z; T is temperature; fs ( =f,Fi +f.rj +f,Bk) is
the body force; p is the mass density; E is the specific
energy (E = 1/2v.v + e); e is the internal energy; and
q’ is the rate of heat generated per unit area.
We remark that in the mathematical model of
eqn (l), we assume de = c, dT; c, is the specific heat
at constant volume and c, = cP. For compressible
fluid flow, we replace F and G with F* and G*:
F*= [P($], G*= [ ;;:._ (4)
where
? = 1(V.v)1+ p[Vv + (Vv)rj (5)
in which i is the second viscosity factor, and His the
enthalpy ( = E + p/p).
We need to use the equations of state (we have 7
equations for 7 unknowns):
P = P(P,T) (6)
e = e(p,T) (7)
and, for a perfect gas, p = p/((c, - c,)T) and
e = c,T.
2.2. Boundary conditions
The boundary conditions corresponding to eqn (1)
are:
l prescribed fluid velocities c‘,, on S,., (vC= I?,);
l prescribed tractions r: on surface S,, (t,,n,= ff/
S,):
l prescribed temperature T, on Sr, (T = p/S,);
l prescribed heat flux into the S,, ( = k aTjan)/
S,, = q.5
The physical boundary of a fluid (liquid or gas) can
be formed [S] as: (1) an interface between the liquid
and a gas; (2) an interface between the liquid and a
liquid; or (3) an interface between the fluid and a
solid. The interface between a liquid and a gas is
called a free surface. A boundary or the interface
which can move is called a moving boundary. For a
free surface we can specify the following.
(1) The kinematic boundary condition:
as
S(x,,t) = 0, and x + q,S, = 0 (8)
where t denotes time and q, is the velocity of a point
(x,) of the moving free surface. If we assume that
along the free surface, the fluid moves only
tangentially and the normal velocity of a fluid particle
on the free surface is equal to the normal velocity of
 Simulation of the aquaplane problem
v = 0.0
Fig. 1. The cross section of the rolling cylinder.
the free surface itself at the point where the particle
is located, then
v,s,= %s,
(2) The dynamic boundary condition:
where u is the the surface tension coefficient, p0 is the
ambient pressure in the gas or vacuum, and R, and
RI are the radii of curvature of the interface in any
orthogonal planes containing the unit normal
(pointing outward) n. The summation of the two
curvatures is given in Ref. [9].
(3) Fluid-solid (structure interaction):
The combined solution of fluid-solid problems
requires special treatment of the interfaces between
the two states. Since the primary variable for the fluid
part is a velocity expression, the solid must be solved
in terms of velocities. Thus, all fluid-solid interaction
problems become time dependent and these are
solved using transient algorithms. For special cases in
which a steady-state limit exists, the velocity of the
solid part must necessarily tend to zero. The whole
problem domain is split into two parts, a fluid
domain (for our case, between the road and the
automobile tire) and a structural domain (automobile
Fig. 2. Sketch of the two-dimensional model, center of the
relative coordinate system at the instantaneous center of the
velocity.
1157
tire). The displacement, velocity and stress fields must
be continuous at the interface:
(11)
where superscript (f) denotes fluid, superscript (s)
denotes the solid, d, and v, are, respectively, the
components of displacements and velocities and T,,
are components of the stress tensor.
We remark that the interface between the fluid and
the structure is modeled as a moving solid boundary
by the ADINA-F code and the structure is modeled
by the ADINA code.
2.3. Finite-element equations of fluid pow
Numerical solutions of the governing eqn (1) are
based on the discretization by finite elements. The
finite-element equations are [8,9]:
(9)
($ +v.F-S)+vbi.~]dY=dh4.n
SF
r
hi
(12)
where hi is the weighting function.
The governing matrix equations can be stated in
symbolic form as:
KX=R (13)
where K is the ‘stiffness’ matrix, X is the vector of
unknown nodal variables (velocities, temperatures
and pressures) and R contains driving forces,
including the body forces and surface forces. These
equations are highly nonlinear and must be solved by
an incremental iterative scheme. In the ADINA-F
program, we can use either the method of successive
substitution or Newton-Raphson iteration. Another
method is the stabilized space-time element formu-
lation [lo]. Additional information about these
methods can be found in Ref. [9].
2.4. Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation
In many fluid-flow calculations, the computational
domain remains fixed in time. Such problems involve
rigid boundaries and are suitably handled in a
Eulerian description of the balance equations. An
advantage of Eulerian formulation lies in the use of
single stress- and strain-rate measures; namely,
measures that we use in infinitesimal displacement
analysis, except that velocities must be calculated
instead of displacements.
Fig. 3. Original mesh for the two-dimensional model.
1158 M. Zmindak and I. Grajciar

sequence of time (st%$

- - 0.05
.-_ - 0.15
Vmax = 0.135
- 0.25
t . . . - * 0.5
. . . . . 1.0
k . ..-

Fig. 4. The velocity vectors of the steady-state fluid flow and curves for the course of the free surface

In the case where the shape of the domain changes

during the solution, a Eulerian formulation would
require the creation of new control volumes.
Therefore, it is more effective to use an arbitrary
Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation (ALE). The ALE
description is designed to follow the boundary
motions rather than the fluid particles. Thus, the
fluid particles flow through a moving mesh. The
method chosen for moving the mesh is important
with regard to accuracy and ease of use. One method
is to remesh the computational domain after
every time step; however, this is computationally
expensive and an undesirable procedure. Another
method is to update the mesh automatically
according to an algorithm that meets certain
important constraints.
The ALE description requires that the convective-
diffusive eqn (1) of the Euler description be modified
to account for the mesh movement. This turns out to
involve only a simple change in the velocity of the
convective term in each equation. Finally, appropri-
ate boundary conditions must be posed. A new set of
governing equations are given [8] in tensor notation
as follows. Firstly, momentum:
P[S+(c,-$+]=T ‘1.i +Pg,[l-bB(T-T,)l
and secondly, heat transfer
where &$3t is the time derivative of the particle
velocities u, with respect to the moving frame; X,is the
displacement of the moving frame; 6x,/& is the
velocity of the moving frame; x, is the displacement
of the moving frame; 6x,/& is the velocities of the
moving frame; b is the volume expansion coefficient;
and cP is specific heat at constant pressure.
We note that the constitutive law and continuity of
eqn (1) remain unchanged and for the finite-element
equations, the x, and 6x,/& are displacement and
velocities of the nodes of the mesh. The displacements
x, on the moving boundary are solved in the cases of
a free surface and a fluid-fluid interface, but they are
prescribed in the case of a fluid-structure interface.

0.00

Fig. 5. The isolines of the stream function.

 Simulation of the aquaplane problem 1159
the drlvlng dimction
liquid layer. We considered an infinitely long
cylinder with radius R = 50 mm, see Fig. 1 and
investigated the velocity and the pressure of the fluid
domain during formation of the free surface
surrounding the cylinder. No slip conditions were
assumed at the wall.
A laminar flow with constant mass density of liquid
p = 1000 kg me3 and viscosity p = lo-’ Pa set was
considered. Gravity effects with gravitational acceler-
ation g = 9.81 m set-* were, of course, included.
Figure 2 shows the problem solved. The liquid is
compressed by the influence of the rolling edge of
Fig. 6. Tire on a liquid layer-the view through the glass the cylinder. We assume that a part of the road in the
plate. contact domain is pushing out the liquid under the
cylinder.
Figure 3 shows the relatively coarse mesh used for
It can be important to use, in the solution
analysis and Fig. 4 shows the velocity vectors of the
nondimensionalization, because we can obtain
liquid and the free-surface shapes of different time
certain advantages [l 11:
moments. The solution converged well in the time
increments. The isolines of the stream function are
l independence on the units used;
shown in Fig. 5 and the pressures are shown in
l greater universality of formulation and solution;
Ref. [12]. The authors Bathe and Dong [13] con-
l simplification of model equation;
cluded that the nonsmooth lines of the calculated
l manifold reduction of analysis range in nondi-
stream function at the element boundaries indicate
mensional space;
regions where the mesh was not fine enough to
l nondimensionalization is necessary when con-
predict the fluid flow accurately.
vergence is difficult to obtain due to round-off errors
caused by using too large or too small a value of input
3.2. Three-dimensional model of tire aquaplaning
data expressed in certain units.
Our finite-element model of tire aquaplaning is
rigorously limited by available computer power (SGI
3. FINITEELEMENT ANALYSIS 32 MB RAM). This requires using the coarse meshes
for both domains of interest. In the model, we made
3.1. Fluidflow around a rolling cylinder-two-dimen- use of the symmetry of the problem by considering
sional model only one quarter of the tire (Figs 6 and 7). We assume
First we analyzed the simple problem of fluid flow that only the lower part of the tire is influenced by the
that arises when rolling a smooth cylinder over a contact with the liquid layer.

ADINA 2
LY

Fig. 7. Original mesh of the tire.

1160 M. pmindak and I. Grajciar

ADINA

Fig. 8. The mesh of the tire tread in detail.

3.2.1. Generation of‘ rhe structure (tire). Two
different element types were used for modeling the
tire structure. We used simple-layer shells to build the
base of the tire. The quadratic shell element gives a
good approximation for the proper modeling of the
global tire deformation after mounting on the rim.
Three different thicknesses were chosen for the shell
regions: (1) 3 mm for the sidewall part supported by
the rim; (2) 2.2 mm for the sidewall part connected
to the crown; and (3) 4.5 mm for the crown part of
the tire.
For simplicity, we used the isotropic material,
while the deformation in the radial direction
approximately follows the inflation process computed
by the authors in Ref. [14]. Another technique for the
dete~ination of the stiffness properties of the
single-ply cordrubber composites is described in
Ref. [15]. The Halpin-Tsai, Gough-Tangorra or
Akasaka-Hirano equations were successfully used to
predict lamina stiffness properties from the stiffness
properties of consistent materials, but disregarded the
nonlinear behavior of cord and rubber. Consider-
ation of these difficulties clearly indicates the need for
determining stiffness properties of single-ply cord-
rubber composites from direct measurement of strain
in the composite by special measuring devices. A very
good comparison between the computed and
measured results is published in Ref. 1151.

Fig. 9. Originai mesh of the fluid domain.

 Simulation of the aquaplane problem 1161

ADINA Z
Y-----I

Z-DISPLACEMENT
TIME 1.000

Fig. 10. The distribution of the midplane shell displacement U, on the fluid-structure part of the tire.

Classical laminate theory can be used to model a
tire as a laminate structure that consists of several
predominantly isotropic and orthotropic layers, the
latter of which produced specific cord angles.
Homogenization of the mechanical properties of both
the filament and the matrix material for every layer
causes loss of prediction of the actual state of stress
and deformation of the various constituents [16].
With the following assumptions,
l homogeneous, isotropic, linear elastic material
properties for fiber and matrix;
l regularly distributed straight fibers; and
0 perfect stick contact between fibers and matrix
one can obtain a good approximation of the

Y-z
I

PRESSURE
TIME 1.000

0.7500
0.5000
0.2500

Fig. 11. The pressure distribution on the fluid region.

 1162 M. Zmindak and I. Grajciar

REACTION
TIME 1.000

31.53

Fig. 12. The reactions in the plane of symmetry.

deformation behavior of the tire by multilayered
shell elements [2],
the tread pattern is created from three-dimensional
eight-node elements (Fig. 8). The shape of the tread
pattern is proposed with regard to the character of
the fluid flow under a smooth tire.
The material of the tire tread is mostly any special
compound of the rubber. Because of small strain in
the contact interface, the hyperelastic behavior is
represented by an elastic material [E = 3 x IO“,
v = 0.45 (the size of the Poisson ratio is chosen with
regard to the locking effect)]. The precise investi-
gation of stresses over the tire structure is not the
purpose of this work.
The boundary conditions for the solid domain are:
l symmetry in the two planes of the symmetry;
l zero displacements on the tire/rim boundary;
l fluid-structure interface on the tread face of the
tire; and
l inner pressure to shell faces due to inflation of
the tire (0.2 MPa).
3.2.2. Generation of the fluid domain. In accord-
ance with the solid domain, only one half of the
pressed liquid in contact is considered. Four-node-
tetrahedron linear elements were used for discretiza-
tion of the fluid domain. The finer mesh is required
in regions with grooves and corners, whereas in

i
Y-Z

VELOCITY
TIME 1 .ooo

1.193

Fig. 13. Velocity vectors around the fluid region.

 Simulation of the aquaplane problem
PRESCRIBED
VELOCITY VELOCITY
TIME 1 .Ooo TIME 1 .OOo
I
0.9557 0.3913
t
Fig. 14. Velocity vectors in the plane of symmetry.
transition regions a rather coarse mesh is possible
(Fig. 9). 49,920 three-dimensional elements were
generated in the fluid domain. Of course, a finer mesh
would have been preferable, but this would have
required a larger computer than was available.
The ALE formulation is used to describe forming
of the fluid flow domain between the flexible tire and
the rigid road. The boundary conditions on the fluid
domain are:
l zero velocity in the x-direction in plane of the
symmetry;
l linearly increased velocity on the road side
boundary (see earlier two-dimensional model);
l zero ambient pressure on the in contact surfaces;
and
l fluid-structure conditions on the tread side
boundary.
4. NUMERICAL RESULTS
We used the linear FEM model for the solid
domain considering small displacements and small
rotations of the tire structure. The Newton-Raphson
method with the iterative solver RPGMRES(200)
was used for solving the fluid flow nonlinear
equations.
Figure 10 shows the displacement u, of the
midplane shell structure in the contact part of the tire
from the inner side point of view. The shape of the
contact area is quite different from the shape of the
tire in contact with a dry road. Figure 11 shows
the hydrodynamic pressure distribution on the
fluid-structure interface. The computed reactions are
shown in Fig. 12. Vectors of the velocity distribution
around the water region are shown in Fig. 13 and
Fig. 14 shows the velocity distribution in the plane of
symmetry.
1163
ADINA-F
i!
I
X-Y
5. CONCLUDINGREMARKS
Our contribution is intended to show the capability
of the ADINA system to solve one of the most
popular problems in the fluid-structure interaction
field, namely the aquaplaning of a tire. The modeling
of the fluid flow required experience in creating the
finite-element mesh and to state suitable boundary
and intial conditions. Using the results, we found the
lift force by the integration of the pressure, the flow
in grooves of tread pattern and the effect of the height
of the liquid layer of the pressure distribution. These
characteristics will have to be taken into account in
further studies.
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16 Rothert, H., Gebbeken, N., Jagusch, J. and Kaliske, M.,
Versuche der Vorhersage von Schaden infolge mecha- where L* is length, Re is the Reynolds number, Pe is the
nischer Beanspruchungen von Luftreifen mit Hilfe der Peclet number and I;; is the temperature shift defined by the
--_ _ - _
FEM. Iagungsband: Dynamische Probleme-Model- user