Performance evaluation of cord material models applied to structural analysis of tires

Tires are, in essence, a composite structure made of reinforced elastomers. As in other composite structures, the accuracy of finite elements (FEs) in predicting the performance of a tire is highly dependent on the validity of the material models chosen to describe the mechanical behavior of its constituents. This paper concentrates on the material modeling of tire reinforcements, and analyzes several material models, namely linear, Yeoh and Marlow, which are quite common in these investigations. A realistic tire is considered as a general system and the most relevant results are discussed concerning precision, computational efficiency and complexity in parameters identification. The advantages of non-linear material models, especially of the Marlow model, are outlined. To the authors’ knowledge, no study has addressed the abovementioned aspects of the application of tire cord models in FE analysis of tires in such detail or directly compared the performance of cord models in a realistic example.