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RE: Amazing facts





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From: Dave Simmons
Have we answered the question of trucks vs cars though? If we can keep
our pressures and forces straight, we should be able to calculate
which tires exert more pressure. I would guess this is most damaging
to a road surface. But, if we are talking about damage to a bridge or
culvert perhaps total force (weight) is the culprit.

Any highway engineers listening?

Dave


Well, if you assume a typical 18-wheeler, 60-70,000 lbs, and truck tires
having an estimated 4x the contact area of a car tire, then there is less
than a factor of 2 in pressure between car and truck. Of course the
loads aren't really distributed evenly over all the tires, but a factor of
2-3 in pressure between truck and car then moves us back to overall force
as the culprit (if we are to blame the trucks for the damage).

Rick