THE MECHANICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PNEUMATIC TIRES

AN EXPOSITION OF EXISTING KNOWLEDGE OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES, CHARACTERISTICS AND BEHAVIOR OF PNEUMATIC TIRES IS PRESENTED. QUESTIONS OF TIRE TECHNOLOGY ARE NOT DISCUSSED. THE ROLLING PROCESS, VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL LOAD-DEFLECTION CHARACTERISTICS, BEHAVIOR DURING BRAKING AND SIDEWAYS MOTION, ROLLING RESISTANCE AND HIGH SPEED EFFECTS ARE DISCUSSED. THEORETICAL TREATMENT AND EMPIRICAL DATA ARE GIVEN. RECOMMENDATIONS ARE MADE FOR FURTHER RESEARCH. THE INVESTIGATION WAS MADE PRIMARILY TO PROVIDE DATA FOR AIRCRAFT PURPOSES. THE INFORMATION MAY ALSO BE OF USE TO LAND VEHICLE DESIGNERS. A SUMMARY IS GIVEN OF THE MAIN PROPERTIES OF TIRES OF IMMEDIATE INTEREST FOR DESIGN PURPOSES. THE PROPERTIES OF TIRES ARE DISCUSSED IN SOME DETAIL. A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS GIVEN. WITH ONE OR TWO EXCEPTIONS, STUDY HAS BEEN RESTRICTED TO MATERIAL PUBLISHED AFTER 1930, BUT REFERENCES TO EARLIER MATERIAL CAN BE FOUND IN THE BIBLIOGRAPHY.