DropTank
Well-Known Member
When you are calculating contact PSI, tire PSI is not a factor.
Pressure = Force/Area^2
You could triple the tire psi and it doesn’t affect the contact psi if contact area doesn’t change. The force is the mass of the aircraft.
Where it could matter in an EMAS is if there was a curb at start of the EMAS pad to initiate a plowing effect.
With winter tires, you may want to increase contact psi, so skinnier tires, less contact area. The tire must carry a sufficient tire pressure to carry the load. The constraint is reducing contact area also reduces traction, so it’s an optimization problem.
It’s obvious that you don’t understand the difference between tire pressure and contact pressure when you post this:
Higher tire pressure, in and of itself, does not increase contact pressure. It’s the “skinnier” part that increases contact pressure, not the air pressure inside the tire.
Guess you're never driven off road.
(like REAL off road, not driving on smooth dirt to get to the country club)
Don't believe me?
Find a bicycle with slick tires (easier to measure)
Pump tires to 60PSI
Get on the bike
Have someone draw an oval line where the tire contacts the ground.
Measure area: A=πab
Reduce to 30 PSI
Draw another oval
Measure again.
The air in the tires supports the plane. The tire supports the air.
Lower the pressure, the tire will deform to increase the contact area.
PSI x area MUST equal the weight of the aircraft.
Unless you're levitating.
(Note, this IS distorted slightly by certain ply structures, but this does NOT make them immune to physics)