Rolling resistance

Figure 1  Hard wheel rolling on and deforming a soft surface, resulting in the reaction force R from the surface having a component that opposes the motion. (W is some vertical load on the axle, F is some towing force applied to the axle, r is the wheel radius, and both friction with the ground and friction at the axle are assumed to be negligible and so are not shown. The wheel is rolling to the left at constant speed.) Note that R is the resultant force from non-uniform pressure at the wheel-roadbed contact surface. This pressure is greater towards the front of the wheel due to hysteresis.

Rolling resistance, sometimes called rolling friction or rolling drag, is the force resisting the motion when a body (such as a ball, tire, or wheel) rolls on a surface. It is mainly caused by non-elastic effects; that is, not all the energy needed for deformation (or movement) of the wheel, roadbed, etc., is recovered when the pressure is removed. Two forms of this are hysteresis losses (see below), and permanent (plastic) deformation of the object or the surface (e.g. soil). Note that the slippage between the wheel and the surface also results in energy dissipation. Although some researchers have included this term in rolling resistance, some suggest that this dissipation term should be treated separately from rolling resistance because it is due to the applied torque to the wheel and the resultant slip between the wheel and ground, which is called slip loss or slip resistance.[1] In addition, only the so-called slip resistance involves friction, therefore the name "rolling friction" is to an extent a misnomer.

Analogous with sliding friction, rolling resistance is often expressed as a coefficient times the normal force. This coefficient of rolling resistance is generally much smaller than the coefficient of sliding friction.[2]

Any coasting wheeled vehicle will gradually slow down due to rolling resistance including that of the bearings, but a train car with steel wheels running on steel rails will roll farther than a bus of the same mass with rubber tires running on tarmac/asphalt. Factors that contribute to rolling resistance are the (amount of) deformation of the wheels, the deformation of the roadbed surface, and movement below the surface. Additional contributing factors include wheel diameter,[3] load on wheel, surface adhesion, sliding, and relative micro-sliding between the surfaces of contact. The losses due to hysteresis also depend strongly on the material properties of the wheel or tire and the surface. For example, a rubber tire will have higher rolling resistance on a paved road than a steel railroad wheel on a steel rail. Also, sand on the ground will give more rolling resistance than concrete. Sole rolling resistance factor is not dependent on speed.

  1. ^ Sina, Naser; Esfahanian, Vahid; Yazdi, Mohammad Reza Hairi; Azadi, Shahram (18 April 2018). "SAE MOBILUS". SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems. 11 (2): 167–176. doi:10.4271/06-11-02-0014. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  2. ^ Peck, William Guy (1859). Elements of Mechanics: For the Use of Colleges, Academies, and High Schools. A.S. Barnes & Burr: New York. p. 135. Retrieved 2007-10-09. rolling friction less than sliding friction.
  3. ^ Hibbeler, R.C. (2007). Engineering Mechanics: Statics & Dynamics (Eleventh ed.). Pearson, Prentice Hall. pp. 441–442. ISBN 9780132038096.