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

轮胎研究中心(CenTiRe)是由NSF、弗吉尼亚理工大学和阿克伦大学合作建立的，弗吉尼亚理工大学是牵头站点。S中心的使命是通过了解轮胎、路面和车辆之间的复杂相互作用来提高道路运输安全，然后将这些知识应用于改进轮胎材料、制造、模拟和测试方法。这一使命得到了来自车辆、轮胎、材料和测试领域公司的补充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、轮胎与路面相互作用的表征和建模(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、模拟工具、测试设备和制造方法方面提供创新的工业研究。最近的这一奖项使CenTiRe进入第二阶段。该中心自豪地通过直接支持不同群体的研究生和本科生的教育和培训来促进科学进步。在过去的几年里，随着车辆和道路设计的进步，对轮胎性能的要求也大大增加。因此，轮胎行业对基础和应用研究的需求大大增加。轮胎研究中心(CenTiRe)的目标是通过研究和寻找新材料、模型、模拟工具、测试设备和制造方法的解决方案来开展和传播轮胎科学和技术创新。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将进行研究，通过模型开发、模拟和测试更好地了解轮胎性能。这包括但不限于：使用基于物理、基于实验和基于有限元方法的轮胎和车辆动力学建模；针对摩擦、磨损和噪声的轮胎-路面相互作用建模；用于轮胎健康监测的智能轮胎开发；道路轮廓和摩擦力估计；以及一些用于增强轮胎性能的创新材料开发。阿克伦大学以其聚合物科学和工程闻名于世，在材料开发、建模、模拟和测试领域做出了最大的贡献。具体包括：橡胶-填料相互作用分析、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关系的发展。CenTiRe旗下这两所大学开发的技术将旨在改善轮胎的牵引性能、燃油经济性、环境影响以及操纵、平顺性、噪音和磨损等功能性能。轿车和卡车在我们国家的经济中扮演着重要的角色。因此，未来对轮胎技术知识渊博的工程师和科学家的需求将大幅增长。弗吉尼亚理工大学和阿克伦大学都是众所周知的机构，它们为相关行业提供训练有素的劳动力，为我们的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举办研讨会和工业课程。因此，CenTiRe，更具体地说，是弗吉尼亚理工大学和阿克伦大学，制定了一套严格的培训流程，其中包括分析和实践研究以及几门研究生水平的课程，这些课程将帮助学生在毕业后在成员公司找到工作。

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.