| Abstract: | Tires and their component parts are made from various low modulus rubbers and cord/rubber laminates. In service they typically undergo large deformations of about 1–30%. The accurate measurement of these deformations by either pointwise (strain gage) or full-field (optical) techniques is rendered difficult in these circumstances. Ordinary strain gages reinforce these soft structures and inhibit their deformation, whereas most optical methods are too sensitive to measure large motions. These difficulties can be overcome by the judicious use of various moiré methods: moiré interferometry, geometric moiré and shadow moiré.Several applications of moiré methods to tire mechanics problems are presented. The emphasis is on the range of problems that has been successfully approached and on the results obtained. Examples are drawn from work on belt-edge strains, tread groove strains, sidewall strains, dynamic sidewall deformations and material properties determination. Proprietary details of technique are not included. |
