An Adaptive Tire Model for Enhanced Vehicle Control Systems

Tread depth, inflation pressure, tire temperature, and road surface condition are among the most notable factors that have a noticeable effect on the tire force and moment characteristics. They can vary significantly during the operation of a tire and can effectively modify tire (and thus vehicle) performance. This study presents details of an adaptive magic formula (MF) tire model capable of coping with changes to the tire operating condition. More specifically, extensions have been made to the magic formula expressions for tire cornering stiffness and peak grip level, to account for variations in the tire inflation pressure, load, tread-depth and temperature. As a next step, the benefits of using an adaptive tire model for vehicle control system applications is demonstrated through simulation studies for enhanced vehicle control systems using an adaptive tire model in comparison to traditional control systems based on a non-adaptive tire model with fixed model parameters. In particular, this paper investigates the improvements an adaptive tire model would bring into the following vehicle control system strategies: Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system, Brake Torque Vectoring (BTV) system, and Rear Wheel Steer (RWS) system.