Phase II I/UCRC University of Akron: Center for Tire Research (CenTiRe)

轮胎研究中心（CenTiRe）是由美国国家科学基金会、弗吉尼亚理工大学和阿克伦大学合作成立的，以弗吉尼亚理工大学为牵头单位。中心吗?其使命是通过了解轮胎、路面和车辆之间复杂的相互作用，然后应用这些知识来改进轮胎材料、制造、模拟和测试方法，从而提高道路运输的安全性。这一使命得到了车辆、轮胎、材料和测试领域公司专业知识的广泛支持。为了支持这一使命，弗吉尼亚理工大学将在轮胎和车辆建模和仿真工具、轮胎-道路相互作用表征和建模（力和力矩建模、摩擦和磨损、噪声和振动）、相关测试设备开发和智能轮胎系统方面开展和传播创新研究和解决方案，阿克伦大学将在轮胎材料、材料模型、仿真工具、测试设备、还有制造方法。该合同使CenTiRe得以进入第二阶段。中心通过直接支持不同群体的研究生和本科生的教育和培训，以促进科学的进步而自豪。随着车辆和道路设计的进步，对轮胎性能的要求在过去几年中急剧增加。因此，对轮胎工业的基础研究和应用研究的需求显著增加。轮胎研究中心（CenTiRe）的目标是通过研究和寻找新材料、模型、仿真工具、测试设备和制造方法的解决方案，开展和传播轮胎科技创新。由于弗吉尼亚理工大学（VT）在轮胎和车辆工程方面享誉全球，VT将通过模型开发、仿真和测试进行研究，以更好地了解轮胎性能。这包括但不限于：轮胎和车辆动态建模使用基于物理，基于实验和有限元方法；轮胎-路面摩擦、磨损和噪声的相互作用建模；面向轮胎健康监测的智能轮胎开发道路轮廓和摩擦估计；以及一些创新材料的开发，以提高轮胎的性能。阿克伦大学以其聚合物科学和工程而闻名于世，在材料开发、建模、仿真和测试领域做出了最大的贡献。具体而言：分析橡胶填料相互作用，新材料设计，轮胎噪音最小化，材料断裂和可持续性测试以及材料本构律的发展。CenTiRe内部这两所大学开发的技术将致力于改善轮胎牵引力、燃油经济性、环境影响以及操纵、行驶、噪音和磨损等功能性能。汽车和卡车在我国经济中起着重要作用。因此，对在轮胎技术方面知识渊博的工程师和科学家的需求将在未来显著增长。弗吉尼亚理工大学和阿克伦大学都以为相关行业提供训练有素的劳动力而闻名，它们为本科生和研究生提供严格的培训，并为该领域的终身学习者提供研讨会和工业课程。因此，CenTiRe，特别是弗吉尼亚理工大学和阿克伦大学，制定了严格的培训流程，其中包括分析和实践研究，以及一些研究生水平的课程，这些课程将帮助学生在毕业后在成员公司找到职位。

The Center for Tire Research (CenTiRe) is a collaboration between NSF, Virginia Tech and the University of Akron with Virginia Tech as the lead site. The Center?s Mission is to improve road transportation safety by understanding the complex interactions between the tire, road surface and the vehicle, and then applying this knowledge to improve tire materials, manufacturing, simulation and testing methods. This mission is broadly supported with complementary expertise from companies in the vehicle, tire, materials, and testing fields. To support this mission, the Virginia Tech site will conduct and disseminate innovative research and solutions in tire and vehicle modeling and simulation tools, tire-road interaction characterization and modeling (force and moment modeling, friction and wear, noise, and vibration), related test equipment development, and intelligent tire system and the University of Akron will provide innovative industrial research in tire materials, material models, simulation tools, test equipment, and manufacturing methods. This recent award enables CenTiRe to move into Phase 2. The Center is proud to promote the progress of science by directly supporting the education and training of a diverse group of graduate and undergraduate students. With the advancements made in vehicle as well as road design, the demand on tire performance has increased tremendously in the past few years. Therefore, the need for fundamental and applied research for the tire industry has increased significantly. The Center for Tire Research (CenTiRe) has the objective to conduct and disseminate innovations in tire science and technology through conducting research and finding solutions for new materials, models, simulation tools, test equipment, and manufacturing methods. Since Virginia Tech (VT) is globally known for tire and vehicle engineering, VT will conduct research to better understand tire performance through model development, simulation and testing. This includes but is not limited to: tire and vehicle dynamic modeling using physics-based, experiment-based and finite element methods; tire-road interaction modeling for friction, wear and noise; intelligent tire development for tire health monitoring; road profiling and friction estimation; and some innovative materials development for enhanced tire performance. The University of Akron is globally known for its polymer science and engineering, and makes its strongest contribution in the field of materials development, modeling, simulation, and testing. Specifically: analyzing rubber-filler interactions, new materials design, tire noise minimization, materials fracture and sustainability testing as well as development of constitutive laws for materials. The developed technologies from these two universities within CenTiRe will aim at improving tire traction properties, fuel economy, environmental impact, as well as functional performances such as handling, ride, noise, and wear. Cars and trucks play a major role in our nation's economy. Therefore, the demand for engineers and scientists who are highly knowledgeable in tire technology will significantly grow in the future. Both Virginia Tech and the University of Akron have been well known as institutions which provide a well-trained workforce for our relevant industries by providing rigorous training for our undergraduate and graduate students as well as seminars and industrial courses for life-long learners in the field. Therefore, CenTiRe, and more specifically Virginia Tech and the University of Akron, have developed a rigorous training process which includes analytical as well as hands-on research plus several graduate level courses which will help the students find positions within the member companies after graduation.