Modeling and Finite-Element Performance Analysis of Selenol-Functionalized Carbon Nanotube/Natural Rubber Composites for Aircraft Tire Applications

This study developed a natural rubber composite reinforced with selenol-functionalized carbon nanotubes, demonstrating significant mechanical enhancement. The composite exhibited remarkable improvements in elastic modulus, with 300% and 500% modulus increasing by 2.23 MPa and 2.68 MPa, respectively, along with a 1.22 MPa boost in tensile strength compared to conventional counterparts. Material characterization was successfully performed using a polynomial hyperelastic constitutive model. The optimized composite was applied to the tread of a Bridgestone 1270 × 455 R aircraft tire for performance evaluation. Finite element analysis in ABAQUS revealed that under 2.5 MPa inflation pressure, the tire achieved specified dimensional requirements with a cross-sectional width of 459.55 mm and a diameter of 1270.50 mm. Three-dimensional static load simulations showed characteristic elliptical contact patches that expanded with increasing load, while maintaining rectangular normal contact stress distribution. Critical performance evaluation demonstrated excellent radial stiffness stability of 22.9 kN/mm within the operational pressure range of 1.5–2.0 MPa under rated load conditions. These findings validate the composite’s potential for enhancing aircraft tire performance.