Stephen N.

Bobo ~

Fatigue Life of Aircraft Tires 2

REFERENCE: Bobo, Stephen N., "Fatigue Life of Aircraft Tires," Tire Science and
Technology, TSTCA, Vol. 16, No. 4, October-December 1988, pp. 208-222.

ABSTRACT: A study was conducted to determine if a safe upper service limit can be
set for aircraft tires, based on an operation profile of the aircraft using the tires. The study
consisted of three parts: development of a tire heating model, experimental confirma-
tion, and determination of fire degradation as a function of time at temperature. Three
operational profiles were identified: long, intermediate, and short haul; these stressed
tires in different ways. The mathematical model, which calculated temperature as a
function of time for various axial and lateral forces at different speeds, was developed
and confirmed by experiment. It predicted the time at temperature of the hottest part of
a fire that is exposed to the operating environment of the profiles. The impact of heating
was found from a determination of ply adhesion as a function of time at temperature.
The end of tire life was judged to occur when ply adhesion was degraded by 50%.

KEY WORDS: aircraft tires, fatigue life, heating model, ply adhesion

The work described here was performed for the FAA Office of Hight
Standards. The objective was to determine if a technical basis exists for the
establishment of an upper service limit for aircraft fires. To do so, it was
necessary to determine the type of service that tires encounter over their life
and the damage this service imposes. Figure 1 is a flow chart depicting the
interrelationships of tasks aimed first, at finding the rate of degradation of a
tire with service and, second, determining the point at which airworthiness
falls below an acceptable limit.
Initially, a typical operating profile had to be determined for each of three
classes of service: short, intermediate, and long haul. Next, a model was
developed, which accounted for the various means by which fatigue is intro-
duced into a fire. The two major degrading influences on tires are heating

1U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Research and Special Projects Administration, Transportation

Systems Center, Cambridge, MA 02025.
2 Presented at the fifth annual meeting of The Tire Society, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio,
March 25-27, 1986.

208
 BOBO ON FATIGUE OF AIRCRAFT TIRES 209

OBTAININDUSTRY
TiREADHESION t__~, [ ......... SIO....
TIME-AT-TEMPERATURE 1
VALUES J
f r
TIREFATIGUE Y/ ACs
SERVICELiFE
TSOS
DETERMINETYPfCAL
TAXIMANEUVERSOF
TIRELOAD& o vo ooo 1
SPEEDDATA . 9 M;:~ EEMTA~ICLA I~ TDEYNT;
..... ER
3 TYPESOFAJRCRAET:
SHORT,INTERMEDIATE. MODEL -- ~_~ TEMPDATA
LONGHAUL
FLIGHT
TEST
l 20,L;~T/T
A
FIG. 1 ~ Flow chart for tire degradation and airworthiness.

and cyclic stress of rolling through the contact patch. The model, therefore
had to account for the number of cycles (revolutions) the tire experiences
and the resultant heat buildup from load, speed, lateral force, and other
factors. Dynamic testing then had to confirm the ability of the model to
predict the temperature rise at various points in the tire and, in particular,
that at the point of highest temperature.
Moreover, some method had to be devised for measuring the fatigue
degradation in a tire. The standard industry means for characterizing such
degradation is carcass adhesion; that is, the adhesion between the outer ply
layer and the next inner ply. The distribution of adhesion values in the
national population of aircraft tires was determined in a recent survey. Since
the distribution represents the spectrum of airworthy tires in current service,
adhesion values below those found in the distribution can be assumed to
represent tires no longer airworthy. A study was conducted to determine
how adhesion changes with time at temperature. This provided a basis for
determining the rate of degradation in terms of exposure to temperature.
From this study, the model and its experimental validation, it is now possi-
ble to determine how a tire will degrade in a given service environment, and
when it will reach a point at which it is no longer airworthy.

Dynamic Characteristics
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has long used dynamometer
tests to assure the airworthiness of tires. They funded such a study to de-
velop accelerated life cycle tests of tires for widebody aircraft which simu-
lated actual tire performance. From this work, it was hoped that tests could
be devised to predict the rate of degradation from loss of adhesion, and also
to determine the upper service limit for any tire design. These new tests were
to be compared with tests currently mandated.
Part of the study was carried out by Paul Durup of Lockheed, with dyna-
210 TIRE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY

TABLE 1 - - Ground operation characteristics at representative international airports. Body of table shows
taxi distances and number of turns at each listed radius.

Takeoff Landing

Radius of turns Radius of turns

ft/(m) ft/(m)

Taxi distance 65 90 150 Taxi distance 65 90 150

ft (m) (19.8) (27.4) (45.7) ft (m) (19.8) (27.4) (45.7)

San Francisco 10 220 (3 115) 1 2 3 8 540 (2 603) 1 1 3

John F. Kennedy 15 520 (4 730) 2 1 2 14 840 (4 523) 1 1 3
Dulles 13 850 (4 221) 2 1 0 11 720 (3 572) 1 1 1
O'Hare 15 920 (4 852) 2 1 2 11 060 (3 371) 2 1 2
Honolulu 13 080 (4 206) 1 1 2 12 600 (3 840) 2 1 2
Los Angeles 12 300 (3 749) 1 2 3 9 160 (2 792) 1 1 4

Average 13 500(4 115) 2 2 2 11 300(3444) 1 1 2

mometer tests performed at Air Force Wright Aeronautical Laboratory and

flight tests at Palmdale CA on Lockheed's L-1011 plane [I]. Durup postu-
lated three typical operating profiles for most wide-body aircraft: short,
intermediate, and long haul. The profiles were developed using defined taxi
procedures on a composite airport taken from those given in Table 1. The
composite airport uses a takeoff distance of 13 500 ft (4 115 m) and two
each of small, intermediate and wide radius turns. Distances, and numbers
of turns are smaller for landing. Lateral forces were converted into equiva-
lent vertical forces by determining, through test, the vertical forces which
would impose equivalent fatigue damage on a series of tires exposed to
different lateral loadings during standard accelerated life cycle tests on a
dynamometer. For each profile, a set of non-dimensional loading factors
(percent of maximum takeoff load) was assumed, as well as the percentage
distribution of these loading factors and the associated flight time (Tables 2,

TABLE 2 - - Loading factors for long-haul aircraft.

II I

Non-dimensional weight

Takeoff Landing Percent of flights Flight time, hours

0.940 0.611 5.2 9.4

0.846 0.616 17.4 6.8
0.818 0.690 12.2 3.6
0.736 0.615 12.2 3.6
0.729 0.690 26.5 1.0
0.652 0.615 26.5 1.0
 BOBO ON FATIGUE OF AIRCRAFT TIRES 211

TABLE 3 - - Loading factors for intermediate-range aircraft.

Non-dimensional weight

Takeoff Landing Percent of flights Flight time, hours

0.958 0.711 15.2 5.6

0.900 0.808 10.9 1.9
0.847 0.808 30.2 0.6
0.787 0.704 10.4 1.9
0.745 0.708 33.3 0.6

3, 4). The next step was to develop a mathematical model, and validate it by
experiment, which would give the temperature at the hottest part of a tire as
a function of the load, speed, lateral force, and other external factors. Loca-
tion of the hottest part of the tire has been the subject of considerable study.
Experts seem to agree that the two sites most likely to develop hot spots are
the apex and the shoulder [1,2,3]. The apex, at i in Fig. 2, is the region where
the plies separate to envelop the beads; the shoulder, at j, is the lower hinge
point at the edge of the tread structure.

Mathematical Model
Figure 2 illustrates the tire heating model developed at Lockheed by Max
Gammon [1]. The tire is shown broken into three sections: i, j, and k.
Conduction between sections is assumed to be zero. Experiments showed
that the apex (section i) becomes hottest during rolling, although the model
can be solved similarly for the i, j, or k sections.
In their thermal analysis of tires, McCarty and Tanner [2] show that
highest temperatures in aircraft tires center around the apex and the
shoulder. Measurements of actual internal tire temperatures have suffered
from the fact that implanted thermocouples can be used to measure only a

TABLE 4 - - Loading factorsfor short-haul aircraft.

i

Non-dimensional weight

Takeoff Landing Percent of flights Flight time, minutes

0.916 0.871 20 60
0.865 0.834 20 45
0.820 0.798 20 45
0.792 0.747 20 60
0.741 0.711 20 45
212 TIRE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY

ui FV

Hi (TiT a)

Ta
~ K i i fli - Ti) - 0

i|

DIFFERENTIALEQUATION: ]
micifi - ~iFV - Hi fTi - Tel
i

SOLUTION:
ATiitl. ATfi(l_. -ttri)

~oiF'V * HiTli SEE TABLE 5 FOR OEFINITIONOF NOMENCLATURE

~Tfi - -Toi
Hi ,,, ~iF"V

~'i - ,,
r~ci
Hi * aiFV

Pi " CvCd (uoi - aiTi)

ii

FIG. 2 - - Analytical model of tire heating by rolling under load.

small number of points, and the exact heating mechanism has therefore
been characterized with less than desirable accuracy. Actually, two factors
contribute to failure of tires: heat and fatigue. Analysis of failed tires from
the Lockheed dynamometer tests showed all fires failing in the apex. Gener-
ally, failures begin at the outer plies. This is borne out by analysis of failure
of tires involved in accidents, and may be further explained by the fact that
adhesion levels in the ply structure are lowest at the outer plies. Accordingly,
lacking better data, it has been assumed that the hottest part of the tire, and
 BOBO ON FATIGUE OF AIRCRAFT TIRES 213

TABLE 5 - - Terminology for tire heating by rolling.

Quantity Unit Description

Ft-pounds
Specific heat of ith tire section (material property)
Pound- ~
C, Velocity factor for ].ti
G Tire deflection factor for #i
F Pounds Total tire vertical load
Hi Ft-pounds
Convective heat transfer coefficient for ith tire section
~ see
mi Pounds Weight of the ith tire section
t See Time
Ta ~ Ambient air temperature
A T~(t) ~ Time varying temperature ofith tire section, relative to the initial temperature To~
ATri ~ Final steady state temperature of ith fire section, relative to the initial
temperature To~
Tol ~ Initial temperature of ith tire section
V Ft/sec Tire rolling velocity
ri see Time constant ofith section
/ti Portion of total rolling resistance coefficient yielding internal heat generation in
section i
//4)i Value of/~i at Ti = 0~
ai l/~ Slope of/q vs Ti curve

that part most exposed to thermal fatigue, is the apex, and the calculations
are made using that assumption.
The model gives instantaneous temperature as a function of the variables
listed in Table 5. These include material variables such as specific heat and
heat transfer coefficient; operational variables such as velocity, load, weight,
and time; and external temperature variables. All are fairly easy to obtain
except #i, which represents that portion of the roiling resistance that gener-
ates heat in the apex.
For a 50 X 20-20 tire, the experimentally determined value for # (we drop
the subscript, because for this study we are only dealing with the apex) and
its derivative 'a' are:
= 0.01432 (dimensionless)
a = -32.58 x 10-6/deg F
Figures 3 and 4 are curves for Cv and C~ respectively. The preceding
values were experimentally determined from dynamometer testing of
Goodyear 50 x 20-20 tires. Applicability of these values for other tire sizes
and constructions is not known.
Figures 5, 6, and 7 show analogous model and test data for different loads
and speeds. Agreement is generally good, but test temperatures sometimes
greatly exceed analytical values just prior to failure, as in Fig. 8. A similar
214 TIRE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY

1.4

1.0

TIRE SIZ[ - SO X 20-20

0 20 40 60 80 100 12D 140

FIG. 3 - - Velocity factor for tire apex heating model. Multiply mph by 1.609
to get km/h.

approach was used to determine the effects of air cavity temperature and of
brake heat on apex temperature during the maneuvers associated with taxi,
takeoff, and landing. It was determined analytically, and confirmed experi-
mentally, that neither parameter had a substantial impact on the apex tem-
perature, at least in the geometry being studied, i.e., on an L-IO11 plane.

Aircraft Operating Profiles

Using the tire heat model, assumed taxi and turn velocities, and the load
distribution data in Tables 2, 3, and 4, Durup then calculated tire apex
temperature profiles, from which the period of time above a certain temper-
ature can be determined.
Figure 9 presents a measured tire apex-temperature-time profile during
taxi, takeoff, and landing of an L-1011. It also shows the cool-off rate of a
heated tire to be about 100~ (56~ Durup showed a set of operating
scenarios of which Fig. 10 is an example. This gives time, distance, tire
revolutions, loads (vertical, lateral and drag), and finally, temperature. In
Durup's worst case scenario, a tire will remain above 220~ (104~ for
 BOBO ON FATIGUE OF AIRCRAFT TIRES 215

2.0

1.6

~" 1.2

,=,
ua

0 I I ! I 1
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
TIRE DEFLECTION- PERCENT

FIG. 4 - - Deflection factor for tire apex heating model.

about forty minutes when the aircraft has a takeoff load factor of 85% or
greater.

Developing a Test For Upper Service Limit

A major purpose of this effort was to determine if we could develop an
accelerated life test for tires. The problem was that heavy load profiles
created unrealistically high temperatures, but tires under reasonable temper-
ature regimes remained unstressed, and would run almost forever on the
dynamometer. Although an approach, where tires are run until they reached
a threshold temperature and then allowed to cool before rerunning, showed
some promise, consistent results were never obtained. The data spread was
too great to permit rigorous prediction of tire life.
It was thus necessary to develop engineering data which could be used to
predict safe upper service limits based on some other parameter that is
affected by temperature and related to the severity of service the fire en-
counters.
A promising candidate parameter which was thought to provide a mea-
sure of fatigue is interply adhesion. It is measured on all classes of aircraft
216 TIRE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY

240
220

200
T E S T ~
180
o

I
160
E

'"=.., 120
1--

lOO

~e 80

6o

40

2o

[ [ I I l
100 200 300 400 500 600
TIME- SECONDS
FIG. 5 - - Temperature rise at tire apex," velocity 35 mph (56.3 km/h), load 53 800 lb (24.4 Mg).

tires as a part of the quality assurance provisions of FAA Advisory Circulars

(AC's) relating to tire maintenance. Their report AC 145-4 recommends
adhesion tests of the buff line interface and the outer ply layer of the tire
carcass.

Adhesion Characteristics
In an attempt to set appropriate minimum adhesion values for rulemak-
ing, adhesion values were obtained from an extensive sample of the tires in
service in the national population of large U.S. aircraft. From an analysis of
this sample, it was found that the adhesion values followed a normal distri-
bution, and hence small samples taken from the production of a single
manufacturer could be used to determine whether his process was in control
and that tires of his manufacture were airworthy [3].
 BOBO ON FATIGUE OF AIRCRAFT TIRES 217

160
140
I 120
10G A N A L Y S I S
$o

60

~o
z
y STARTING
TEMP,- 960F

[ I I i I I t I
100 200 300 400 50G 600 700 6OO 900
TIME~ SECONOS
FIG. 6 - - Temperature rise at tire apex; velocity 50 mph (80.4 krn/h), load 34 200 lb (15.5 Mg).

240

TEST
200--

180
NALYSIS
9 160
I

140

~ 120

~ 100
!
~- 8G

i r I
100 200 300 40G
TIME - 5ECONOS
FIG. 7 - - Temperature rise at tire apex," velocity 60 mph
(96.5 km/h), load 53 800 lb (24.4 Mg).
218 TIRE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY

400

9,,.. 3O0
I
IALYSIS

200

100 ~ / START1NGTEMP84'0F"

0
0 1O0 200

TIME - SECONDS

FIG. 8 - - Temperature rise at tire apex; velocity 50 mph (80.4 km/h), load 114 000 lb (51.7
Mg).

300

d"
I
200

..=.

loo --

o I I I I I I I I ! I I
10:00 20 40 11:00 20 40 12:00

TIME - HOUR:MINUTE

I TAX, el~ Ftr '- II tAX, l i'l ul STATIC -I

T.O. LAND PUSH
ROLL BACK

FIG. 9 - - Temperature profile at apex o f tire for an L - l O l l plane.

 ~rr AARIVAt 9

|AXiWAY flLHNWAu 9J + 1 KUHWAV iAKIWAY

I IZ0 i i I i |1 I
~CaIMII~r~I l0 13 41 34410 l
i 5' '~ ,.5 .... 33 31 40 11 , 131 1~ |Z 1~ 41 11 1
I ol I I t
CUk~itrfl 10 ;53 . . . . 51;
IO
, J, ,t+ ~ID 104 111 ]88 ,188 411 114
ItqCA[kI{MI IJ. 131 351 1500 133 )QO0 113 BOQO 153 I11 5310 1011 -,+ ,,oo .3 ,.o ~ooo 2,, ~ 233 ,5oo .,,~e
ms.,mr +I I-I
CUr4~I,AI m 131 340 I I I t I 51 I I I / I D, I I
3073 530| 14481 14833 10141 IIII 5400 7491 7599 12115 III11 Illil I/ill
10 In 25 ID

O3
,+ + ,, + ..... r + T '....
F " r " i 0
UA~IG IURN IUNN IU O3
n~;HT 0
VUaN
0
I I I I I I I I I 117
Z
hi, X-X " I
X X X-X X X X . X X--X X X XIX RAUP "11
X~n+I, XMIAL Ill ,i 23o s~ Ioi ~'~ u ,15 3>
Ira[ RI~LUTIONS I I 105 141 tO/ 0/ ]01 13 131 I17 Ill [
I' I I I' I -'4
CUIdULXlI~E 14] 415 ~ol sDt Io50 I1ol 53o1 1317

l i ~ t0~O5 'ii' C
71 II1 10 ;I
T I0 11
"r IO 13 51
i'i .... II i~ ft II
70 111 ~) 51 511 51 55 5F 51 5,1 51 m
viii llc~t ~j)
I I I II I I, I II 3 ~, +, , I II 0
l I I I l
'11I I
~tta ~D II "T1
II II ! II O I I I I
0 0 10 32 O I 0 O 14 l l
I l i I + , , i I. I ' 3>
till II I I 0 I I 0 3 I
mCAZMtllllt 100 } I 4 Ii O'l I S II 1 II II 213
lml Phi SSLm[
CU~QtATM 1001 ~1~ I I Z11! I
l I 30l III |IS I;'1 I/5 I1~ 100 105 I15 Ill In 0
:13
ll~nll~PllAr - F' I I 3>
,5 I 35 I 1' 't 0~ o2
I ~ APEXltlk~lP.i~llJl~5 10r ~ I "rl
Cl}IdQIJllrlt[- *f I01 IOZ I I i
Ill 145 213 | 1 ] 215 |4 d4 111 140 1140 I11 114 IIOII~
P[ACEN|O~PUII[O
~ACENI(~AI~AL
m
FIG. 10 -- Long range scenario for 17.4% offlights; non-dimensional weight 0.846 at takeoff and 0.616 at landing. C13

CD
 220 TIRE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY

65

60

55

50

45
Z
0
GN 40
m~

35

30

25 i i = t ?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6

R-LEVEL

FIG. 11 - - Adhesion as a function o f R-level.

The analysis determined that the national mean value for the outer ply
adhesion of aircraft tires was 39.8 lb/in. (6.97 kN/m). The three-sigma
point, based on a sample having normal distribution, is about 20 lb/in. (3.50

t00 9 I I I bl II I I I I I II I I I I I II
Z
O 9
I-
IJJ
r,- 80 ~
"-c ~,~,,~ ROGE N
I-
o 9
Z
w 60 . .
,,.it
i-
o3
AI o ~ F ~
w
>-- 4 0
m
W
"r
o 220~ - AIR
9 ?-20~ - NITROGEN
~ 20
Z o 295"F- AIR
w
o 9 295"F- NITROGEN TYPICAL
w
~- 0 , i it .... I m i I I I I I I
5 I0 50 I00 5O0 I000
AGING TIME (HOURS)

FIG. 12 -- Effect o f time at temperature on adhesive strength.

 BOBO ON FATIGUE OF AIRCRAFT TIRES 221

kN/m), indicating that 99.7% of all tires have an adhesion value greater than
20 lb/in. (approximately 50% of the mean value). These values form the
basis for the algorithm used in determining the lower threshold limits used
in AC 145-4. As is shown in Fig. 11 [3], the data spread was too great to
correlate adhesion values reliably with retread level. Accordingly, a study
was initiated by S. K. Clark of the University of Michigan to determine the
long-term effects of elevated temperature on tires. To do this, he conducted
an experiment to correlate adhesion values in tires with time at temperature.
Clark [4] states that the two primary causes of degradation are cyclic stress
from roiling through the contact patch and heat from hysteresis within the
tire body due to flexing. Of these two factors, heat is the more important,
since, under proper conditions, tires can operate over distances and times
far above those required in service.
Clark used adhesion tests identical to those from which the above statisti-
cal data on adhesion values were obtained. Using sample coupons, 1 in. by
about 4 in. (25 by 100 mm) from the shoulder of a tire retreaded once, he
exposed them to different periods of aging in an oven at elevated tempera-
tures, slitting the end between the outermost ply and the next outermost,
and then conducting tensile test of the samples. Two sets of test specimens
were aged, one set in air and the other in nitrogen. The test is further
described in AC 145-4. Figure 12 shows the results of Clark's experiment. It
seems clear that adhesion is related to time at temperature. In particular,
tires exposed to temperatures as low as 220~ (104~ had reduced adhe-
sion values.

Effect of Temperature on Service Life

In order to determine the impact of temperature on the service life of a

fire, we established the relationship between time-at-temperature (from
Clark's work) and the time-in-service during which a tire is above a given
temperature threshold (from Durup's work) by the following process:
Retread operations occur at roughly fixed intervals during the service life
of a tire, which vary with aircraft type, load, and the severity of the service
environment. A reasonable industry average is about 225 landings between
retreads. From Durup's scenario data, tires on long and intermediate haul
aircraft above 85% gross takeoff weight spend about 40 minutes above
220~ (104~ during each takeoffand landing cycle. Extrapolating Fig. 11
indicates about a 50% loss of adhesion in nitrogen for a sample exposed to
this temperature for about 1000 hours. Thus, it will require about 1500
landings or, at 225 landings per retread, 6.7 retreads for the average tire in
severe service to reach its lower adhesion threshold of 50%. Incidentally, it is
this 50% value that Clark proposes as a safe threshold based on data from
truck tires. The FAA rationale was that, since the national population con-
222 TIRE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY

tained no tires with adhesion values less than 50% of the mean, tires with
lower values should be considered no longer airworthy. Further, a simple
calculation determines that the centrifugal force on tire tread at speeds that
aircraft achieve in takeoff can be greater than the three-sigma adhesion
values found in the statistics.

Conclusions
Given the diversity of performance parameters, there can be no hard and
fast rules for establishing the fatigue life of tires. Indeed, tires retreaded ten
times are not uncommon, particularly on nosewheels or under light load
conditions. Similarly, particularly severe service conditions can necessitate
limitations to as little as one or two retreads. On the other hand, it may be
possible, using a more rigorous application of the principles described here,
to predict the life of a tire for a given service environment.
Nevertheless, the data herein suggest a finite upper safe service limit of
tires used in service having some threshold level of severity.

References
[1] Dump, P. C., "Development of an Operating Profile for Aircraft Tires", Contractor Final
Report for DOT, Transportation Systems Center, Cambridge, MA 02142. Contract No.
DTRS 57-80-C-00190.
[2] McCarty, J. L. and Tanner, J. A., "Temperature Distribution in an Aircraft Tire at Low
Ground Speeds," NASA Technical Paper 2195. August, 1983.
[3] Bobo, S. N., "Adhesion Testing of Aircraft Tires"; NASA Publication 2264; Proceedings of
a Workshop held at Langley Research Center, Hampton VA., September 7-9, 1982.
[4] Clark, S. K., "Loss of Adhesion in Cord-Rubber Composites," Contractor Final report for
DOT Transportation Systems Center, Cambridge, MA 02142; Contract No. 83-P-80607,
October 1984.