Evaluation of friction mechanisms and wear rates on rubber tire materials by low-cost laboratory tests

The tire-pavement contact is part of a complex tribo-system with several variables. Once the pavement surface and the rubber tire are directly and indirectly related to transportation safety, fuel consumption, wear rate, noise generation, and others, it is possible to state that a better understanding of tribo-logical variables may provide a deeper knowledge of friction and wear phenomena. In this study, low-cost tests were carried out for the purpose of evaluating these phenomena. In addition, statistical analysis of friction and wear rates was accomplished, allowing their correlation with parameters such as surface energy and wear pattern spacing. Therefore, it was possible to validate the existence and relevance of the adhesion mechanism at friction, which is frequently neglected in the literature. It was also possible to verify the indirect methods of evaluating wear and friction performance of rubber tire materials.