In-plane flexible ring tire model—part 2: Parameterization

The flexible ring tire model has recently gained significant attention in vehicle dynamics and analysis of road loads because it is able to capture the tire belt deflection under various driving conditions and compute more efficiently than the complex finite element tire model. This article presents the second part of the in-plane flexible ring tire model study with the recently developed flexible ring tire model to investigate several important aspects about tire model parameterization. First, we use the FTiret model in the MSC ADAMS/Viewt virtual test rig to generate five sets of spindle longitudinal and vertical loads on cleats with different heights, static loads, and speeds. These spindle loads are considered the ‘‘experimental data’’ in view of proving the accuracy of the commercial FTiret model that can accurately predict the spindle loads, especially in well-controlled test rigs. Next, one set of tire model parameters identified with a specific cleat test case is applied to other cleat test cases to predict the tire spindle forces, which are then compared with those corresponding experimental data. Similarly, this process is repeated for each cleat test case to yield different sets of parameters, respectively. Afterward, the predicted spindle loads are compared with the experimental data, respectively, based on SAE Standard J2812, and the predicted errors are assessed to determine which cleat test case is the best choice to identify parameters of the tire model. Finally, the effects of the belt point number and tread block number on the prediction accuracy and efficiency are discussed.