BERGSTRÖM-BOYCE VS. HYPERELASTIC RUBBER MODELS IN STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF TIRES

New viscoelastic/viscoplastic material models, such as Bergstrom-Boyce (BB) model, are known to bring advantages in finite element analysis (FEA) of rubber-based components. To test if the same is true in FEA of tires, a study was performed in which the hyperelastic Yeoh model, BB and dynamic Bergstrom-Boyce (DBB) models were used to characterize the tread of an existing 205/65 R16 tire. Curve fitting results for all material models as well as the results of the footprint and steady state rolling tire analyses are presented in the paper. There are notable differences between the obtained results at higher strain rates, when viscoelastic material behavior is dominant.