Fore-aft Forces in Tire-wheel Assemblies Generated by Unbalances and the Influence of Balancing

When measuring bearing forces of the tire-wheel assembly during drum tests, it was found that beyond certain speeds, the horizontal force variations or so-called fore-aft forces were larger than the force variations in the vertical direction. The explanation of this phenomenon is still somewhat an open question. One of the hypothetical models argues in favor of torsional oscillations caused by a changing rolling radius. But it appears that there is a simpler answer. In this paper, a mathematical model of a tire consisting of a rigid tread ring connected to a freely rotating wheel or hub through an elastic foundation which has radial and torsional stiffness was developed. This model shows that an unbalanced mass on the tread ring will cause an oscillatory rolling motion of the tread ring on the drum which is superimposed on the nominal rolling. This will indeed result in larger fore-aft than vertical force variations beyond certain speeds, which are a function of run-out. The rolling motion is in a certain sense a torsional oscillation, but postulation of a changing rolling radius is not necessary for its creation. The model also shows the limitation on balancing the tire-wheel assembly at the wheel rim if the unbalance occurs at the tread band