Rolling tyre on sand

Objective

Examine how a rolling tyre displaces sand and reshapes the ground surface. The focus is on the role of the tread pattern in moving material around the contact region and forming imprints. This case illustrates the use of Fugu to combine a detailed moving geometry with μ(I) granular rheology.

Simulation setup

A tyre with a detailed tread pattern rolls over a three-dimensional sand bed described by μ(I) granular rheology. The effective friction coefficient depends on the inertial number I, which combines the shear rate, pressure, grain size and grain density. The simulation follows the changing shape of the sand surface and the material displaced as the tread passes over it.

• 3D tyre geometry including the tread blocks and grooves
• Sand modelled using μ(I) granular rheology
• Rolling motion over a deformable sand bed
• Observation of sand displacement around the tyre–ground contact region
• Visualisation of the track and tread imprints left behind the tyre

Results

The visualisation shows sand displaced around the tyre, a track forming along its path and imprints left by the tread pattern. These observations provide a basis for exploring how tread geometry and rolling conditions influence the disturbance of sandy ground. The emphasis here is on material movement and the resulting surface shape.