An integrated analytical model for friction characteristics of aircraft tire on wet runway pavement

Abstract

The challenging issues of tire-water-pavement interaction are to determine the deformed tire profile and the effective tire-pavement contact length due to water intrusion. This study aims to develop an integrated analytical model to analyze friction characteristics of an aircraft tire on wet runway pavement. The tire-water-pavement interaction model consists of the Brush model for tire-pavement contact and the flexible ring model for tire deformation with consideration of hydrodynamic force. The feasible contact footprint and the deformed tire profile are solved using an interactive process between two models. The model shows the ability to predict friction coefficients at various tire loading, velocity, slip ratio, and water conditions. The thicker water film depth causes the reduction of tire-pavement contact length and the increases of hydrodynamic force, resulting in poor skid resistance of pavement. The calculated friction coefficients at different velocities are further used to predict hydroplaning speed and calculate braking distance of aircraft tire. The results demonstrate the significant effect of water depth on the risk of aircraft hydroplaning and overrun on runway pavement.