Off-Road Vehicles’ Traction Performance Augmented by Controlling Tire Inflation Pressure

This paper presents a comprehensive investigation aimed to improve wheeled vehicles’ traction performance by properly controlling tire inflation pressure while driving over different terrains. A four-degrees of freedom (4-DOF) parametrized quarter vehicle model is derived and numerically simulated in MATLAB/Simulink environment to estimate the traction performance of a single pneumatic tire over different terrains such as clay, loam and sand. Numerous simulations are carried out to investigate the effect of tire inflation pressure on traction performance considering different tire loading conditions and soil terrains. Simulation results showed significant improvements in vehicle traction performance in terms of maximum tractive efficiency and maximum drawbar pull by reducing tire inflation pressure. The practical work involves both the design and implementation of a dual-circuits central tire inflation system (CTIS) aimed to manually or automatically control the tire pressure inside tires while driving. The proposed prototype of CTIS system is successfully implemented using an appropriate test rig. This system is designed in a modular way and can digitally monitor and control tire inflation pressure while driving with considerably reduced cost and modifications in vehicle axles.