Hydroplaning of Tires: A Review of Numerical Modeling and Novel Sensing Methods

Abstract

This article represents an extensive literature on tire hydroplaning, specifically focusing on the assessment of real-time estimation methodologies and numerical modeling for both partial and total hydroplaning phenomenon. Hydroplaning still poses a significant challenge for contemporary passenger cars, even those equipped with state-of-the-art safety systems. The active safety features that equip the most technologically advanced passenger cars are unable to forecast and prevent the occurrence of hydroplaning. Total hydroplaning represents a phenomenon which occurs when the tire reaches a point where it can no longer expel the water from its tread grooves, leading to a complete control loss of the motor vehicle. This describes a scenario in which the entire contact patch is lifted from the ground due to the hydrodynamic forces generated at the contact between the tire and the layer of water formed on the road. Nevertheless, the decrease in contact between the tire and the road surface occurs gradually, a phenomenon which is presented in the literature as partial hydroplaning. The longitudinal speed that marks the transition from partial hydroplaning to total hydroplaning is defined as the critical hydroplaning speed. These principles are widely acknowledged among researchers in the hydroplaning field. Nonetheless, the literature review reveals variations for defining the critical hydroplaning speed threshold across different experimental investigations. In this article, past studies, and state-of-the-art research on tire hydroplaning has been reviewed, especially focusing on real-time estimation methodologies and numerical modeling of the partial and of the total hydroplaning phenomenon.