Measurement and identification of the in-plane dynamic behaviour of a rolling tyre

Road vehicle NVH performances can be improved acting on tyres, which play a fundamental role in the transmission of structure-borne noise and vibration into the cabin, up to 500 Hz. This paper aims at investigating the in-plane dynamics of a rolling tyre in this frequency range. Tyre radial vibration measurements are carried out through a dedicated experimental setup, based on a laser triangulation sensor scanning the tread of a rolling tyre. The experimental data are collected during cleat tests, considering different rolling speeds and inflation pressures, to investigate their influence on tyre dynamics. Then, a data processing algorithm is proposed with the aim of identifying the progressive and regressive waves propagating along the tyre circumference after the cleat impact. Finally, to interpret the results, the identified tyre response has been compared to the analytical results obtained through a simplified in-plane tyre model.