Temperature Measurements at Tyre Tread Rubber on Sandpaper Oscillatory Sliding Contacts Using Acicular Grindable Thermocouples

The tribological performance of tyre–road contacts depends crucially on the contact temperature. This study investigates the reliability and accuracy of acicular grindable thermocouples possessing an original needle-shaped wearable part as applied to measuring temperature at the oscillatory sliding contact between a rubber tyre tread sample and a sandpaper. A linear oscillatory tribometer is used to imitate the sliding phase of tyre–road contact under mild friction conditions. It is shown that the acicular grindable thermocouple measurements are generally test–retest repeatable. Moreover, the thermocouple signal becomes more stable with increasing contact pressure. Compared to the conventional thermocouple technique, the acicular grindable thermocouple overestimates temperature at the rubber friction surface by about 23% due to involvements of its wearable part in friction with the sandpaper. The findings suggest an expansion of the acicular grindable thermocouple technique to full-scale experiments with tyres on the road.