Capturing Planar Tire Properties Using Static Constraint Modes

The interaction between the tire and road has long been of interest for vehicle dynamic simulation. A planar tire model is developed to capture the tire circumferential displacements and calculate the spindle force according to the tire shape. The tire is discretized into segments and Hamilton’s principle is used to derive the model mathematical expression. It is shown that the static constraint modes are functions of two non-dimensional parameters; a third parameter defines the overall stiffness. These parameters are experimentally identified for a specific tire. The bridging and enveloping properties are examined circumferentially. The prediction accuracy of spindle force with respect to tire-road interference is evaluated by comparing the simulation and experimental response for a quasi-static cleat test. The simulation result of spindle force agrees with the experimental data and the process can be implemented as a morphological pre-filter of road profiles for more efficient vehicle modeling and simulation.Copyright © 2012 by ASME