Some Comparisons of Average to Peak Soil-Tire Contact Pressures

Abstract

Comparisons are made among several methods of determining the contact pressure between a tire and the soil. Results show that on compacted soils the peak pressures measured at the soil-tire interface are much greater than mean pressures determined from measure-ments and much greater than pressures calculated by dividing the dynamic load by contact area. On uncompacted soil, peak pressures are almost equal to the inflation pressure.