Master of Science / Rubber is a widely used material globally and undergoes significant changes as it ages. However, the specific consequences of rubber aging on tires and vehicle dynamics remain a relatively underexplored domain. This study delves into the effects of rubber aging on tires and motorcycle dynamics. A Dynamical Mechanical Analysis (DMA) test was performed to study the effect of rubber aging combined with computer simulation models to predict how much the rubber wears out over time. It was found that as rubber gets older it doesn't wear out much faster. This might be because the changes in the rubber properties as it ages are very small. The rubber material also gets stiffer as it ages, leading to minimal differences in the wear rate. The Magic Formula (MF) model was used in this study to model motorcycle tires. A 3-4% increase in the longitudinal and lateral tire forces was observed as the tire aged. This was followed by simulations to study the motorcycle behavior during straight-line and turning motion. It was found that the front tires of the motorcycle had an approximately 3% change in the forces experienced, while the forces experienced by the rear tires only changed by 1-2% with respect to aging. These results are similar to the results obtained by other researchers on the effects of rubber aging on car performance. Thus, this study stresses the importance of understanding how tires change over time and how that affects how motorcycles perform.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/117280 |
| Date | 22 December 2023 |
| Creators | Kurup, Alekh Manoshkumar |
| Contributors | Mechanical Engineering, Taheri, Saied, Sandu, Corina, Ferris, John B. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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