Tire tread pattern design trigger on the stress distribution over rigid surfaces and soil compaction

•A behaviour comparison of tractive and non-tractive tire tread design is proposed.•We examine tire behaviour, stress distribution in top soil and soil compaction.•The tire tread stiffness affects the distribution of the load over the soil.•Tire deformation is firstly affected by tread pattern and after by the sidewall.•The tread design changes the balance between contact pressure and internal pressure.

Studies comparing the structural differences of tires have not qualitatively or quantitatively considered the effects of tread geometry on tire behaviour or the interactions of the tire with the surface. Therefore, to determine the effects of different tire tread patterns on the stress distribution of the tire and soil compaction, we compared the structural behaviours of a high-flotation tractive-tread (TT) tire and a smooth-tread (ST) tire. The experiments were conducted over a rigid and over a deformable surface. The results from the rigid surface shows the influences of the tread pattern and sidewalls is dependent of the loads. Over the deformable surface, the contact area of the TT tire was larger than that of the ST tire. The inflation pressure (IP) was mainly responsible for the load support before the soil reached its maximum deformation. Next, the tread and sidewalls exhibited the same behaviour as observed on the rigid surface. In addition, we observed alterations in the balloon point with the tread geometry and the type of surface due to changes in the contact pressure. With carcass deformation, the volume of the tire was visibly reduced, which indicated that the IP could increase.