The current research of tire aerodynamics mainly focus on the isolated and simplified tread tire. Compared with the real complex pattern tire, the tread pattern structure and deformed profile of a loaded tire has a greatly influence on tire aerodynamic drag. However, the mechanisms of the isolated loaded tires with different tread patterns effects on the aerodynamic drag are subjects worthy of discussion. The purpose of this study is to experimentally and computationally investigate the aerodynamic characteristics of three tires 185/65 R14 with different patterns under loaded. A wind tunnel test model was first established using three-dimensional (3D) printing with a ratio of 1:1, and the pressure coefficients Cp of the three tires with different patterns are measured. The paper then conducted computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations for analyzing the pressure and flow characteristics. The accuracy of CFD simulation is verified by comparing the simulation results with the test results of pressure coefficients Cp, and they are of good consistency. While, the general analysis of pressure coefficients Cp results of the three tires indicates high-pressure area on the windward surface, and occurrence of low-pressure area on the leeward surface, the pressure coefficients Cp of all three tires decreased firstly and then increased along in the air flow direction. The authors finally analyzed the effect of tread patterns on the flow field around the tire and revealed the differences between flow characteristics and aerodynamic drag. The results show that, angle of tire lateral groove has great effect on the flow field characteristics such that; the more the angle of lateral groove agrees with the air flow direction, the less the flow separation and flow vortices, and a minimum observable aerodynamic drag. The research provides a guidance for the design of low aerodynamic drag tires, and helps to illustrate the impact of tire aerodynamics on the car body in the future.

Although there is no risk of puncture, the vibration problem caused by discontinuous structures limits nonpneumatic tire development (NPT). The vibration reduction of nonpneumatic tires is a solvable urgent problem. This current study analyzed the dynamic grounding characteristics and the vibration reduction mechanism of the cat’s paw pads and then applied the mechanical properties to the bionic design of nonpneumatic tire spokes to solve the vibration problem. Domestic cats’ paw pads’ dynamic grounding characteristics were determined using the pressure-sensitive walkway, high-speed camera, and VIC-2D. The results indicated that the mechanical characteristics of swing deformation of paw pads during the grounding process attenuated the grounding stress and buffered the energy storage to achieve the vibration reduction effect. According to the similarity transformation, a finite element model of NPT that could accurately reconstruct the structure and realistically reflect the load deformation was employed. The structure design of asymmetric arcs on the spokes’ side edges was proposed, and it can effectively reduce the radial excitation force of NPT. The three parameters, the asymmetric arc, the thickness, and the curvature of spokes, were used as design variables to maximize the vibration reduction. The orthogonal experimental, the Kriging approximate model, and the genetic algorithm were carefully selected for optimal solutions. Compared with the original tire, the results showed that peak amplitude 1, peak amplitude 2, and the root square of the optimized tire’s amplitudes were reduced by 76.07%, 52.88%, and 51.65%, respectively. These research results offer great potential guidance in the design of low-vibration NPT.

Reducing the aerodynamic drag is one of the most important approaches for the development of energy-saving and environment-friendly automobiles. The tire contour has a great influence on the aerodynamic characteristics of automobiles. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of the tire contour design parameters on the aerodynamic characteristics around a closed wheel, and obtain the optimized tire contour to reduce the automobile aerodynamic drag. A passenger car tire 185/65R14 was selected to conduct the wind tunnel test, and the surface pressure coefficients were used to validate the simulation model established using the detached eddy simulation (DES) model. To decrease tire drag, and taking the upper sidewall height, the tread radii, the tread width, and the transition arc radius of the shoulder as four design variables of contour, a combination of the Latin hypercube experimental design, the Kriging surrogate model, and the adaptive simulated annealing (ASA) algorithm were used to optimize the tire contour design parameters. The changes of flow field around the tire, including the velocity, turbulent kinetic energy, and pressure field were compared and analyzed for further understanding of the drag reduction mechanism. It is found that the aerodynamic drag coefficient of the optimized tire is reduced by 14.5%, and the aerodynamic coefficient drag of the car using the optimized tire is reduced by 7%. The present results are expected to provide useful information for designing new tire structures and improving the aerodynamic performance of the automobile.

Ground reaction force and impulse measurement is an established method for assessing the physical condition and efficacy of treatment for some animals. The primary aim of this study was to quantify the kinetic parameters of the limbs of healthy cats at different speeds. The second aim was to determine the explicit relationship between the kinetic parameters and speed. Peak vertical force (PVF), vertical impulse (VI), stance phase duration (SPD), and paw contact area (PCA) of each limb (forelimb, F; hindlimb, H) of seven clinically healthy, client-owned cats were recorded in the speed interval of 0.5–2.5 m/s. The cats were encouraged to pass by a pressure-sensitive walkway with different speeds. The results revealed that there were no significant differences in any of the tested parameters between the left and right forelimbs and the left and right hindlimbs. Means and regression formulas of the kinetic parameters with speed were obtained. It was evident that PVF-F and PVF-H increased linearly with speed, while VI-F and VI-H decreased exponentially. SPD-F was practically equal to SPD-H and exponentially decreased with speed. PCA-F increased linearly with speed, and PCA-H was almost invariable. Pressure-sensitive walkway is a suitable and convenient equipment for assessing the kinetic parameters of cats. Variation of these kinetic parameters with speed can be explained by the functional difference for forelimb-dominant and hindlimb-driven.