Rolling Friction Resistance

Reference data and engineering information about rolling friction resistance for dynamics applications.

Overview

Engineering reference data for Rolling Friction Resistance in dynamics.

$F = ma$

Force = mass × acceleration.

$E_k = \frac{1}{2}mv^2$

Energy of motion.

$p = mv$

Mass × velocity.

$W = Fd\cos\theta$

Force × displacement × cos(angle).

The rolling coefficient for air-filled tires on dry roads can be estimated based on tire pressure and velocity:

$c = 0.005 + \frac{1}{p} \left( 0.01 + 0.0095 \left( \frac{v}{100} \right)^2 \right)$

where:

A Tesla Model 3 has a standard wheel pressure of 2.9 bar (42 psi). At 90 km/h (56 mph):

$c = 0.005 + \frac{1}{2.9} \left( 0.01 + 0.0095 \left( \frac{90}{100} \right)^2 \right) = 0.011$

Increasing the pressure to 3.5 bar reduces the coefficient to:

$c = 0.005 + \frac{1}{3.5} \left( 0.01 + 0.0095 \left( \frac{90}{100} \right)^2 \right) = 0.010$

This represents a 9% reduction in rolling resistance.

For a car with total weight 1500 kg on asphalt ( $c = 0.03$ ):

All four wheels: $F_r = 0.03 \times 1500 \times 9.81 = 441 \text{ N} = 0.44 \text{ kN}$
Single wheel: $F_r = 0.03 \times \frac{1500}{4} \times 9.81 = 110 \text{ N} = 0.11 \text{ kN}$

Quantity	Conversion
Pressure	1 bar = 10⁵ Pa = 14.5 psi
Velocity	1 km/h = 0.6214 mph