G. Song,1 B. Conard,2 and S. K. R.

Iyengar3

Damping Characterization Using

Hysteresis on Static Nonrolling and
Dynamic Rolling Behavior of Farm Tires4

REFERENCE: Song, G., Conard, B., and Iyengar, S. K. R., ‘‘Damping Characterization
Using Hysteresis on Static Nonrolling and Dynamic Rolling Behavior of Farm Tires,’’
Tire Science and Technology, TSTCA, Vol. 36, No. 2, April – June 2008, pp. 108-128.

ABSTRACT: This paper presents the characterization of damping behavior as characterized

by hysteresis for farm equipment tires and time domain numerical simulation of off-road tire
rolling using finite element techniques. The hysteretic behavior is characterized by the load-
displacement curves from static nonrolling vertical loading tests. Using a highly simplified
finite element model based solely on tire catalog information and general constructional in-
formation, a hysteresis material model is used to simulate the hysteretic load-displacement
behavior of farm tires. By choosing appropriate parameters for the hysteresis model, the static
nonrolling finite element analyses results correlate very well to the experimental results. The
fitted hysteresis material model is then used to simulate the dynamic rolling of a tire dropping
off a curb. The bouncing vertical acceleration is of great interest to off-road tires. First,
implicit dynamics is used to simulate the rolling using the calibrated hysteresis model. Very
good correlations between the simulation results and vehicle test results are obtained. For
better off-road rolling performance, the hysteresis model is recalibrated to reduce the vertical
acceleration of the tire after the first bounce following the drop-off. The hysteresis model is
replicated in explicit dynamics using an Abaqus/Explicit VUMAT subroutine to simulate the
dynamic tire rolling behavior. By introducing additional damping and creep dissipation, the
vertical acceleration is attenuated in excess of 50% after the first bounce following the drop-
off to improve riding comfort. This hysteresis characterization has been shown to give good
agreement with test data on nonrolling tests and dynamic drop-off tests. All modeling and
solutions were performed using commercially available Abaqus software.

KEY WORDS: tire, hysteresis, rubber, elastomer, Abaqus, finite element, hyperelastic,
damping, characterization, energy dissipation, rolling, implicit, explicit

1
Corresponding/presenting author. Dassault Systemes Simulia Corp., West Lafayette, Indiana
47906, USA. Electronic mail: guiyong.song@3ds.com.
2
Dassault Systemes Simulia Corp., West Lafayette, Indiana 47906, USA. Electronic mail:
brett.conard@3ds.com.
3
John Deere Product Engineering Center, Waterloo, Iowa 43840, USA. Electronic mail:
IyengarSeshadriKR@JohnDeere.com.
4
Presented at the twenty-sixth annual meeting of the Tire Society, Akron, Ohio, September 25–26,
2007.

108
 SONG ET AL. ON DAMPING CHARACTERIZATION 109

Introduction

Farm tires differ from common automotive tires in several ways because
the application requirements are very different. At very low inflation pressures
and speeds tractor tires behave quite differently from automotive on-highway
tires. Automotive on-highway tire models are typically unsuitable for the sus-
tained high-torque conditions encountered by tractor tires for field operations.
The biggest difference between a tractor and an on-road vehicle is that most
tractors do not have a suspension system that is commonly found in an on-road
vehicle. Therefore, farm tires are required to provide more energy dissipation
than is common on-road vehicle tires. Farm tires meet this requirement by
introducing more material damping and thus provide ride comfort to farm
equipment to some degree. Tire slippage, wear, and energy dissipation are what
cushion the rest of the vehicle system. In deformable soil, the terrain also
provides damping to the vehicle system. In general, hard terrain operations
result in more severe loads than soft soil operations.
Finite element methods have been widely used in the tire industry for tire
simulations, including rolling simulation, temperature prediction, etc. Tire hys-
teresis resulting from viscoelastic properties of tire compounds and cords has
long been recognized as a principal cause of tire rolling resistance 关1兴. Quasi-
static tire-rolling simulations with hysteresis effect using a static finite element
method are reported in Refs. 关2,3兴.
All conventional tire models need nonrolling and rolling tests to establish
parameter values such as stiffness to put into models. For tires in the conceptual
stage, these are either guesses and/or extrapolations from similar tires. John
Deere has been measuring chassis accelerations over known terrains, e.g., In-
ternational Standards Organization 共ISO兲 tracks, Dewy ditch, etc., for 20 years
and tried to correlate models with measurements 关4兴. More recently wheel trans-
ducers have been used to measure hub forces and moments which are then used
to assess models. Significant efforts have been made to ensure the repeatability
of test runs. After reviewing 20 years of efforts, however, it is concluded that
inadequate tire characterizations are the major reason for the relatively poor
agreement between mathematical models and measurements for severe events.
Few publications on simulations of severe dynamic events such as tire
bouncing on/off ground are available in the literature. This paper presents the
characterization of damping behavior as characterized by hysteresis for farm
equipment tires and time domain numerical simulation of off-road tire rolling
using Abaqus finite element software. Both static nonrolling and dynamic
rolling/bouncing simulations are conducted using a hysteresis model available
in Abaqus/Standard and a newly developed Abaqus/Explicit hysteresis model
based on a VUMAT user subroutine.
110 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Background on Explicit Dynamics and Implicit Dynamics

Two primary direct-integration dynamic procedures exist for solving dy-

namic systems using the finite element method. They are implicit dynamics and
explicit dynamics. An implicit dynamics solution involves inversion of the in-
tegration operator matrix and solution of a set of nonlinear equilibrium equa-
tions at each time increment. The system equations in implicit dynamics include
both the displacements known from previous time increments and the unknown
displacements at the current time increment, hence, the word implicit. Implicit
dynamics is unconditionally stable but is sensitive to discontinuities in the sys-
tem such as contact and impact.
Explicit dynamics solves the nonlinear dynamic problem using wave
propagation theory. The displacements and velocities are directly integrated
from the known accelerations at the beginning of an increment. Therefore, the
global mass and stiffness matrices need not be formed and inverted. The com-
putational cost for each time increment is significantly less than that of implicit
dynamics. However, there is a stability limit on the time increment size beyond
which the system becomes unstable and the solution becomes unbounded. The
time increment must be small enough to let the stress wave travel across the
smallest element in the model.
Abaqus finite element software offers both implicit dynamics 共in Abaqus/
Standard兲 and explicit dynamics 共Abaqus/Explicit兲 procedures. The choice be-
tween the two procedures depends on the nature of the problem to solve. Gen-
erally speaking, implicit dynamics works well for moderate size and smooth
dynamic problems while explicit dynamics provides an advantage for large and
very discontinuous problems. A typical application of explicit dynamics in tire
simulations would be analysis of a tire hitting a curb where the impact is a very
discontinuous event.

Hysteresis Material Model

Extensive literature exists on modeling of viscoelastic behavior of rubbers

共e.g., Refs. 关5,6兴兲. There are mainly two types of constitutive models for vis-
coelastic materials in the literature. One is based on the phenomenological
mechanical behavior of the material, while the other is derived from the micro-
scopic behavior of the material, such as the changes in crosslinking and the
length of fibers.
Viscoelastic materials exhibit hysteresis in cyclic loadings. It arises from
the frictional sliding of the long molecules across one another. Bergstrom and
Boyce 关7兴 developed a large-strain, time-dependent phenomenological hyster-
esis model for elastomeric materials. They observed in experiments that both
 SONG ET AL. ON DAMPING CHARACTERIZATION 111

FIG. 1 — Schematic of Bergstrom-Boyce hysteresis model.

filled and unfilled elastomers show significant amounts of hysteresis during

cyclic loading and both filled and unfilled elastomers are strain-rate-dependent.
The amount of hysteresis increases with loading amplitude but is relatively
independent of the cycling frequency. The hysteresis model in Fig. 1 decom-
poses the mechanical behavior into two parts: an equilibrium or purely elastic
response 共network A兲 and a time-dependent deviation from equilibrium 共net-
work B兲.
The equilibrium network A corresponds to the state that is approached in
long-time stress relaxation tests. The time-dependent network B captures the
nonlinear rate-dependent deviation from the equilibrium state. The time depen-
dence of the second network is assumed to be governed by the reptational
motion of molecules that have the ability to significantly change conformation,
thereby relaxing the overall stress state 关8兴.

Hysteresis Material Model in Abaqus Implicit Dynamics

Abaqus/Standard provides a hysteresis material model for elastomers that
can be used in implicit dynamics. This hysteresis model is based on the original
material model by Bergstrom and Boyce. The isotropic hyperelastic material
model defines network A. The hysteresis material model defines network B. The
total stress of the model is assumed to be the sum of the stresses in the two
networks 关6兴. The deformation gradient F is assumed to act on both networks. It
is decomposed into elastic 共FBe兲 and inelastic 共FBcr兲 components in network B
through the multiplicative decomposition,

F = FBeFBcr . 共1兲

The constitutive response of network A is governed by standard isotropic hy-

perelasticity. The stress response of network B is solely dependent on the elastic
deformation gradient component FBe and is governed by the same hyperelastic
strain energy potential as network A. Given a deformation gradient F acting on
both networks, the elastic deformation gradient component FBe in network B is
obtained through an evolution equation,
112 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SB
FBeḞBcrFBcr−1FBe−1 = ␧˙ Bcr , 共2兲
␴B
where ␧˙ Bcr is the effective creep strain rate in network B, SB is the Cauchy stress
deviator tensor in network B, and ␴B is the effective stress in network B. The
effective creep strain rate in network B is given by the expression

␧˙ Bcr = A共␭cr − 1 + E兲C␴m , 共3兲

where the positive exponent m, generally greater than 1, characterizes the ef-
fective stress dependence of the effective creep strain rate; the exponent C,
restricted to the interval 关−1 , 0兴, characterizes the creep strain dependence
共through the creep stretch ␭cr兲 on the creep strain rate; the non-negative constant
A maintains dimensional consistency in the equation; and the parameter E helps
regularize the creep strain rate in the vicinity of the undeformed state.
In addition to the above material constants, the hysteresis model is charac-
terized by a stress scaling factor, S, that defines the ratio of the stress carried by
network B to the stress carried by network A under instantaneous loading. The
constants for a typical elastomer are 关7兴

S = 1.6,

5
A= 共s兲−1 共MPa兲−m ,
共冑3兲m

m = 4,

C = − 1.0,

E = 0.01. 共4兲

Hysteresis Material Model Based on VUMAT for Explicit Dynamics

Large strain hysteresis has been an option in implicit dynamics for some
time; however, no analogous material model is currently available for explicit
dynamics. SIMULIA Central developed a new hysteresis material model using
the VUMAT user subroutine. This Abaqus extension augments the capabilities
of explicit dynamics through a VUMAT material definition that is largely analo-
gous to that provided in implicit procedure. The VUMAT material model sup-
ports the polynomial and reduced polynomial forms of the strain energy poten-
tial up to an order of 3. The new explicit hysteresis model allows for explicit
simulations of tires with hysteresis effect such as a curb drop-off simulation
with damping.
 SONG ET AL. ON DAMPING CHARACTERIZATION 113

FIG. 2 — Displaced shape of the uniaxial tension unit-cube model.

To verify the new hysteresis model, uniaxial tension and simple shear simu-
lations were conducted to compare the behavior of the explicit dynamics hys-
teresis model with implicit hysteresis model under quasistatic loading condi-
tions. The simple uniaxial tension and simple shear simulations were performed
at a cycling frequency of 0.1 Hz. A single-element unit-cube model with unity
dimensions and unity volume was used to test the hysteresis behavior. The
explicit dynamics unit cube model was the same as the implicit dynamics model
except that the hysteresis material models are different. A sinusoidal extension
displacement was applied to one face in the uniaxial tension model. A sinusoidal
shear displacement was applied to one edge in the shear model. The correspond-
ing reaction forces were recorded. The forces and displacements were plotted on
the same graph to form hysteresis loops. The displaced shape of the uniaxial
extension model and the comparison of force-displacement curves from implicit
and explicit solutions are shown in Figs. 2 and 3, respectively. A similar dis-
placed shape and a force-displacement curve comparison for the simple shear
model are shown in Figs. 4 and 5, respectively. As can be seen, the results
compare quite favorably for these simple modes of deformation at low cycling
frequencies where inertia effects are minimal.

Tire Nonrolling and Vehicle Testing

Farm tires exhibit damping in cyclic loading. The damping is primarily due
to the hysteresis of the tire constituent elastomeric compounds. Tire tests can
provide the overall hysteretic behavior without having to test individual mate-
rials. Hysteretic load-displacement curves from nonrolling tests can be used to
calibrate the hysteresis material model for finite element analyses, whereas the
114 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 3 — Comparison of force-displacement loops for unit-cube uniaxial tension models using
Abaqus/Standard and Abaqus/Explicit.

hysteretic load-displacement curves from dynamic rolling tests can be used to

tune hysteresis model parameters for vertical acceleration attenuation.
Carefully controlled tests were conducted at John Deere to quantify the
energy dissipation needed for improved depiction of low-pressure, low-speed
operations of agricultural tires. First, nonrolling load-deflection tests were run at
various frequencies. Figure 6 shows the test setup of a nonrolling test. Load and
displacement were recorded at the wheel center. The hysteretic load-

FIG. 4 — Displaced shape of the simple shear unit-cube model.

 SONG ET AL. ON DAMPING CHARACTERIZATION 115

FIG. 5 — Comparison of force-displacement loops for unit-cube simple shear models using Abaqus/
Standard and Abaqus/Explicit.

FIG. 6 — Test setup for nonrolling test.

116 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 7 — Trailer vehicle for drop-off test.

displacement curves obtained from the nonrolling test constitute the basis for
characterization of hysteresis material models.
The tires were then rolled off a step to test the energy dissipations. The
emphasis was on large nonlinear displacements. Figure 7 shows a trailer vehicle
used for this test. The transient history data of vertical acceleration, hub load,
and vertical displacement were recorded at the wheel center using sensors.
These data are also required to characterize the hysteresis model parameters.

Tire Modeling and Simulations

A simplified finite element model was used to represent the farm tire. The
model features solid elements strengthened by rebars for tire representation and
fluid elements for pressurization. Rigid surfaces represented the ground in non-
rolling simulations and the vertical step in drop-off dynamic simulations. A
polynomial hyperelastic material model was used to define the strain energy
potentials for the rubber components in the tire.

Nonrolling Simulations
Nonrolling finite element analyses were performed to simulate the nonroll-
ing tests of farm tires. The hysteretic load-displacement curves from the non-
rolling tests were used to calibrate the material constants in the hysteresis ma-
terial model for the rubber compounds in the tire model.
Figure 8 shows the setup of a nonrolling model. A rigid surface represents
the test stand. Contact constraint was defined at the interface between the tire
and the rigid surface. The nonrolling simulation was conducted using an im-
plicit solution and consisted of two steps. First, an inflation pressure was ap-
plied to the tire interior to pressurize it. Then a sinusoidal displacement bound-
ary condition was applied to the tire to move it up and down against the rigid
surface.
 SONG ET AL. ON DAMPING CHARACTERIZATION 117

FIG. 8 — Vertical cyclic loading tire nonrolling test model.

Three frequencies were analyzed with the finite element model—0.1, 5, and
10 Hz. The only thing different among the three cases was the cycling fre-
quency. The inflation pressure and the boundary conditions were the same for
all three cases. After adding the hysteresis definition, the hyperelastic materials
became strain-rate-dependent. Therefore, the step time specified for the static
general procedure became physically meaningful. It was directly related to the
loading frequency. To obtain the same number of cycles for different frequen-
cies, the step time must be changed relative to frequency. The step time for the
0.1, 5, and 10 Hz cases, were 30, 0.6, and 0.3 sec, respectively 共three cycles
each兲.
By adjusting the material constants in the hysteresis material model, very
good correlations between the nonrolling analyses results and test results were
obtained. It was found that the following set of constants gives a good fit with
the test results in the 0.1, 5, and 10 Hz cases: S = 2, A = 5.55555556⫻ 10−21, m
= 3.5, C = −1, and E = 0.01. A comparison of the analysis load-displacement re-
sults with the test data at 0.1 Hz is shown in Fig. 9. The comparisons at 5 and
10 Hz are shown in Figs. 10 and 11, respectively.
The correlations of analysis results with test data are very good at 0.1 and
5 Hz. The comparison is reasonably good at 10 Hz in the sense that the analysis
curve envelopes the test curve. It should be noted that test data at 10 Hz is
difficult to achieve, and thus the test curve provided at 10 Hz does not have
high fidelity.

Curb Drop-Off Simulations

As elaborated in the introduction, farm tires have a higher requirement on
damping than common automotive tires due to the absence of a vehicle suspen-
sion system. Curb drop-off testing can provide important information, including
vertical acceleration and bouncing height that decay along with time after the
drop-off. The attenuation of vertical acceleration was of particular interest be-
cause of its direct relation to the damping due to tire hysteresis.
118 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 9 — Comparison of 0.1 Hz analysis load-displacement loop with that of test.

A 5 in. vertical step was used to test the tire and simulate the drop-off test.
The curb was modeled as a rigid surface in the finite element model. The
drop-off simulation was conducted using implicit dynamics because the tire
model size and the deformation were moderate. It consisted of two steps. In step
1, the tire was pressurized using fluid elements and a footprint was established
through the contact between the tire and ground. In step 2, a rotational velocity
was applied to the tire center to make it roll on the ground.
The same hysteresis model constants from nonrolling simulations were
used in the implicit dynamic procedure to simulate the rolling of the tire. Figure
12 shows the initial and the intermediate configurations of the tire rolling on a

FIG. 10 — Comparison of 5 Hz analysis load-displacement loop with that of test.

 SONG ET AL. ON DAMPING CHARACTERIZATION 119

FIG. 11 — Comparison of 10 Hz analysis load-displacement loop with that of test.

surface with a 5 in. step. Due to the hysteresis of the hyperelastic materials, the
vertical reaction force at the road reference node resulting from the drop-off
gradually decreases as the tire is rolling and bouncing on the road surface with
constant line speed.
Two translational speeds were analyzed—2.4 m / s 共5.2 mph兲 and 1.1 m / s
共2.3 mph兲. Figure 13 compares the vertical acceleration at the wheel hub from
the analysis and that measured in the test for the 2.4 m / s case. The comparison
of the vertical reaction force measured at rigid ground reference node for the
2.4 m / s case is shown in Fig. 14. The reaction force includes the inertia effect
in the dynamic analyses. At the first few cycles, the correlation for both accel-
eration and vertical reaction force are good. After a longer period of time the
analysis results appear to be slightly overdamped compared to the test results.
Similar observations were made for the 1.1 m / s case.
Since the parameters result in excessive damping, they need to be modified
to improve the correlation between the analysis and test results. After a few
iterations, it was found that the following set of hysteresis constants gives rise
to better correlation for vertical acceleration and vertical reaction force for the
rolling tire simulations: S = 10, A = 9.55555556⫻ 10−15, m = 2.9, C = 0, and E
= 0.01.

FIG. 12 — Initial and intermediate configurations of tire rolling off a 5 in. step.
120 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 13 — Comparison of vertical accelerations between drop-off analysis and drop-off test at
2.4 m / s line speed.

The comparison of the acceleration and vertical reaction force for the
2.4 m / s case are shown in Figs. 15 and 16, respectively. As seen in the figures,
the correlation between analysis and test results is very good in both cases.
Good correlation is also observed for the 1.1 m / s line speed case.

Attenuation of Vertical Acceleration of a Large Farm Tire

John Deere was very interested in attenuating the vertical accelerations of
farm tires for better ride performance of the farm equipment. The vertical ac-
celerations of the drop-off simulations in the previous section seem to be high
according to experience at John Deere. Undesirable ride performance will result

FIG. 14 — Comparison of reaction forces between drop-off analysis and drop-off test at 2.4 m / s
line speed.
 SONG ET AL. ON DAMPING CHARACTERIZATION 121

FIG. 15 — Comparison of vertical accelerations between drop-off analysis using recalibrated pa-
rameters and drop-off test at 2.4 m / s line speed.

from high vertical accelerations. A target was set to attenuate the acceleration
after the first bounce following the drop-off by 50%. This is expected to sig-
nificantly improve ride performance of the farm equipment.
The tire used for these simulations is larger than that used in the nonrolling
simulations and the drop-off simulations in previous sections. First, three dif-
ferent inflation pressures were analyzed using implicit dynamics at the same
cycling frequency of 0.1 Hz to study the effect of inflation on hysteresis behav-
ior under quasistatic cyclic loading conditions. The hysteresis parameters de-
rived in the previous section were chosen as the starting parameters for the

FIG. 16 — Comparison of reaction forces between drop-off analysis using recalibrated parameters
and drop-off test at 2.4 m / s line speed.
122 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

TABLE 1 — List of hysteresis parameters.

Stress
Set of hysteresis scaling Effective stress Creep strain
parameters factor S Creep parameter A exponent m exponent C
Baseline from 2.0 5.5555556⫻ 10−21 3.5 −1.0
calibration of the small
tire
Calibrated from 2.0 2.07621823269⫻ 10−15 2.5 −1.0
nonrolling of large tire
at 160 kPa
Recalibrated from 30.0 3.46680637175⫻ 10−36 6.0 −1.0
large tire drop-off
simulation

calibration because they gave very good correlation to the test data of the
smaller tire. The starting parameters are listed in the first row of Table 1. These
parameters were first used in the large tire nonrolling, sinusoidal loading im-
plicit simulations at 160 kPa to determine the hysteresis response. They did not
correlate well to the test data because the tire was different in both size and
compounds.
Based on the experience gained from the nonrolling and drop-off simula-
tions, the stress exponent m and the parameter A were slightly modified to
obtain better correlation to the nonrolling test hysteresis behavior at 160 kPa.
After several test runs, a set of new hysteresis parameters resulted in perfect
correlation to the test data at 160 kPa, as shown in Fig. 17. The new parameters
are listed in the second row of Table 1.

FIG. 17 — Comparison of 0.1 Hz analysis load-displacement loops with those of nonrolling tests at
83, 160, and 241 kPa inflation pressures.
 SONG ET AL. ON DAMPING CHARACTERIZATION 123

FIG. 18 — Initial and intermediate configurations of the large tire rolling off a 5 in. step.

The new parameters were then used in nonrolling implicit simulations at

pressures of 83 and 241 kPa. Because the tire stiffness is slightly different at
different inflation pressures, the correlations to the test data at 83 and 241 kPa
are not as good as at 160 kPa, as shown in Fig. 17, but this slight variation is
acceptable taking into account the variations of tire test data.

Attenuation of Vertical Acceleration in Drop-Off Simulation

Because the tire finite element model was large and large deformation was
expected from the impacts between the large tire and rigid ground, explicit
simulation would provide a computational advantage over implicit simulation.
Therefore, explicit dynamics and the newly developed hysteresis model were
employed in the large tire drop-off simulations. The hysteresis parameters cali-
brated from the nonrolling analysis were used to perform the drop-off simula-
tions. The vertical accelerations gradually decreased, but the difference between
consecutive bounces was much lower than 50%. The hysteresis parameters were
thus recalibrated to achieve the 50% attenuation of vertical acceleration after the
first bounce following the drop-off.
The philosophy was to minimize the number of changes to the parameters
to obtain the desired attenuation of vertical acceleration after the first bounce
following the drop-off. Several drop-off simulations were performed to study
the effects of various hysteresis parameters. The creep parameter A was treated
as a dependent parameter in all analyses. It was found that the stress scaling
factor S significantly affects the vertical acceleration. However, changing S
alone does not alter the energy dissipation. The effective stress exponent m
significantly affects the energy dissipations.
The stress scaling factor S was changed first to obtain 50% attenuation of
vertical acceleration after the first bounce. The stress exponent m was then
increased to introduce more energy dissipation. The drop-off finite element
model of 160 kPa pressure was used to calibrate the parameters to obtain the
50% attenuation. The resulting hysteresis parameters are listed in the third row
of Table 1. Figure 18 shows the initial and intermediate configurations of the
large tire.
Figure 19 compares the vertical accelerations of the drop-off simulations
using two different sets of hysteresis parameters—the baseline from the previ-
124 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 19 — Comparison of vertical accelerations between drop-off analysis using recalibrated pa-
rameters and baseline model at 160 kPa inflation pressure.

ous section and the recalibrated parameters—at 160 kPa inflation pressure.
Similar comparisons for 83 and 241 kPa are shown in Figs. 20 and 21, respec-
tively. The vertical acceleration was reduced 51.0% after the first bounce fol-
lowing the drop-off at 160 kPa inflation pressure. At 83 kPa inflation pressure,
the vertical acceleration was attenuated 57.5%. The attenuation was 46.3% at
241 kPa inflation pressure.

Difference in Energy Loss Between Models Using Different Hysteresis

Parameters
The new hysteresis parameters derived from large tire drop-off simulations
were used to simulate the nonrolling test again. Two nonrolling models were
analyzed at each inflation pressure—one baseline model using the hysteresis
parameters calibrated from previous nonrolling simulations 共in the second row
of Table 1兲 and another model using the parameters recalibrated from drop-off
simulations 共in the third row of Table 1兲. The comparisons of hysteresis loops
for 83, 160, and 241 kPa are shown in Figs. 22–24, respectively.
The energy dissipations are reported as creep energy. Because more damp-
ing was introduced in the models to attenuate the vertical accelerations, more
energy was dissipated as a result of hysteresis effect. The energy dissipations
increased at all three inflation pressures, along with the attenuations of vertical
 SONG ET AL. ON DAMPING CHARACTERIZATION 125

FIG. 20 — Comparison of vertical accelerations between drop-off analysis using recalibrated pa-
rameters and baseline model at 83 kPa inflation pressure.

FIG. 21 — Comparison of vertical accelerations between drop-off analysis using recalibrated pa-
rameters and baseline model at 241 kPa inflation pressure.
126 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 22 — Comparison of force-displacement loops between drop-off analysis using recalibrated

parameters and baseline model at 83 kPa inflation pressure.

FIG. 23 — Comparison of force-displacement loops between drop-off analysis using recalibrated

parameters and baseline model at 160 kPa inflation pressure.
 SONG ET AL. ON DAMPING CHARACTERIZATION 127

FIG. 24 — Comparison of force-displacement loops between drop-off analysis using recalibrated

parameters and baseline model at 241 kPa inflation pressure.

accelerations. The dissipated energy increased 38.2% at 160 kPa inflation pres-
sure. The increases at 83 and 241 kPa inflation pressures are 23.5 and 19.2%,
respectively.

Summary and Conclusions

Large nonlinear displacement theory which includes inertia and dissipation

effects gives good correlation with measured hub forces and accelerations. Tests
on nonrolling tires can be used to tune not only the stiffness over a range of
inflation pressures, but also the energy dissipation in cyclic loading as charac-
terized by hysteresis parameters in Abaqus. These parameters may sometimes
need to be further adjusted using test data from drop-off events. An Abaqus/
Explicit hysteresis material model based on the VUMAT user subroutine is well
suited for simulating severe events such as curb drop-off. By adjusting the
hysteresis model parameters the vertical accelerations of the tire can be effec-
tively attenuated. Further refinements to models are expected to give even more
accurate predictions of accelerations and loads and allow us to explore more
complicated maneuvers involving steering and soil interactions.
128 TIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Acknowledgments
The authors thank engineers at the John Deere PEC and Moline Technology
Innovation Center who have shared their test data and experiences. Thanks also
go to John Deere management who granted permission to disseminate this
information and SIMULIA management who supported this effort.

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