Abstract
Tires are the link between the vehicle and the road (or other surfaces) and frictional forces transmitted between tire and contact surface are determinant on vehicle dynamics. In vehicle dynamic simulation, if the tire model is not appropriate for the operating conditions even a very good vehicle model would lead to invalid results. This question is of primordial importance in the three following cases :
- vehicle accident reconstruction (see for example [1] and [2])
- advanced vehicle motion control (see for example [3])
- analysis of road/vehicle dynamics adequacy (see for example [4] and [5])
Basic parametric models given by tires manufacturers are based on performances measured with a flat track bench Pacejkas type model set up in this way are valid only for the covering surface.
The problem we are currently dealing with in the framework of a research program on wet roads accidents 1 is to devise ways of fixing up relevant tire models parameters for various road surfacings in different conditions from tire manufacturer's model and road test data.