MICROTEXTURE ROUGHNESS EFFECT ON PREDICTED ROAD-TYRE FRICTION IN WET CONDITIONS

Abstract Purely theoretical means were used for predicting the locked wheel and sideways force coefficients of friction on a coarse-textured and a finertextured road surface. The predictions were made directly from surface texture measurements, the measured damping factor of the tread rubber and a theoretical analysis of the surface water using Reynolds' equations of shear and sinkage together with a mechanolattice analysis of the sliding rubber. The reasonable accuracy of the theoretical predictions indicates the high precision possible should empirical factors be later introduced into the method.