A comprehensive review on rubber wear modeling with focus on tire applications

Tire wear arises from coupled viscoelastic deformation, interfacial friction, temperature, and material fatigue, with growing relevance for performance, durability, and environmental impact. This review synthesizes the main families of tire-wear models, including empirical, analytical, numerical, and data-driven approaches, and examines their physical assumptions, predictive range, computational cost, and applicability to realistic tire road conditions. Emphasis is placed on friction and wear interactions, rubber specific complexities, and the absence of a common tribological framework. This work offers three key contributions: a systematic classification of modeling approaches and their assumptions; integration of environmental and regulatory drivers relevant to tire wear assessment; and an evaluation of model applicability across validation contexts, from laboratory tests to indoor rigs and real world conditions. Remaining challenges include transient dynamics, thermo-mechanical coupling, and model generalization. Future directions highlight the need for physically grounded and efficient models able to bridge scales, materials, and applications.