The tire mechanics characteristics are essential for analysis and control of vehicle dynamics. Basically, the effects of sideslip, longitudinal slip, camber angle and vertical load are able to be represented accurately by current existing tire models. However, the research of velocity effects for tire forces and moments are still insufficient. Some experiments have demonstrated that the tire properties actually vary with the traveling velocity especially when the force and moment are nearly saturated. This paper develops an enhanced brush tire model and the UniTire semi-physical model for tire forces and moments under different traveling velocities for raising need of advanced tire model.
The primary effects of velocity on tire performances are the rubber friction distribution characteristics at the tire-road interface. Therefore, in this paper, a simplified analytical tire model considering rubber dynamic friction is established first, which can be used to analyze the effects of distributed friction force in the tire contact patch. Then, considering the effects of traveling velocity, the UniTire semi-physical tire model for tire forces and moments is developed. Finally, the comparison between test data and simulation results of the model are conducted and analyzed prior to the conclusions.