Experimental Study of Indoor Tire Traction Force on Ice

A tire tester for evaluating the tire traction behavior on ice and snow was developed. The tester has a platform type ice trough which can slide reciprocally. Water can be refrigerated and snow be compacted in the ice trough. The tester would be of great assistance in developing new constructions and composites for tire, and contribute to improve the mechanics of pneumatic tires. The effects of the factors such as the slip angle, normal load and the inflation pressure on the tire traction force were discussed at given bulk ice temperature. The advantages of the Central Tire Inflation/Deflation System (CTI/DS) for ice automobile were verified as well.