Nonlinear dynamics analysis in pneumatic tire modeling

Tires are the only link between vehicles and roads and provide all forces for vehicle movement, including driving, steering, and braking. Therefore, the tire model is fundamental for vehicle dynamics, and an efficient tire model is necessary for further technology development of vehicle dynamics and control. In this article, a simplified physical tire model featuring tire hysteresis properties is presented. Firstly, an elastic hysteresis system is introduced to the tire physical model. Then, combining with resistor-capacitor operator, force-deformation characteristics of the elastic hysteresis system are established. Correspondingly, the force-deformation characteristics are applied to describe tire nonlinear dynamics, and a unified expression of HysTire, i.e., a semi-empirical tire model featuring hysteresis characteristics, is established. Finally, the nonlinear dynamics of two tires are modeled to verify the effectiveness and superiority of HysTire. Comparison results with the magic formula model (MF) show that the HysTire provides accuracy like that of the MF, while it is much better in the profiles of predictive and extrapolative capabilities.