Tire Side Force Characteristics with the Coupling Effect of Vertical Load and Inflation Pressure

The tire vertical load and inflation pressure have great influence on tire steady- and non-steady-state characteristics and, consequently, on the vehicle handling and stability. The objective of this article is to reveal the coupling effect of tire vertical load and inflation pressure on tire characteristics and then introduce an improved UniTire side force model including such coupling effect through experimental and theoretical analysis. First, the influence of the tire vertical load and inflation pressure on the tire characteristics is presented through experimental analysis. Second, the theoretical tire cornering stiffness and lateral relaxation length model are introduced to study the underlying mechanism of the coupling effect. Then, an improved UniTire side force model including the coupling effect of tire vertical load and inflation pressure is derived. Finally, the proposed improved UniTire side force model is validated through tire steady-state and transient data. The coupling effect of tire vertical load and inflation pressure on tire cornering stiffness and lateral relaxation length is decided by the variation of the half length of tire contact patch and the carcass stiffness caused by the tire vertical load and inflation pressure changes.