Investigating the Parameterization of Dugoff Tire Model Using Experimental Tire-Ice Data

Tire modeling plays an important role in the development of an Active Vehicle Safety System. As part of a larger project that aims at developing an integrated chassis control system, this study investigates the performance of a 19 " all-season tire on ice for a sport utility vehicle. A design of experiment has been formulated to quantify the effect of operational parameters, specifically: wheel slip, normal load, and inflation pressure on the tire tractive performance. The experimental work was conducted on the Terramechanics Rig in the Advanced Vehicle Dynamics Laboratory at Virginia Tech. The paper investigates an approach for the parameterization of the Dugoff tire model based on the experimental data collected. Compared to other models, this model is attractive in terms of its simplicity, low number of parameters, and easy implementation for real-time applications. The relations correlating tire forces with slip ratios were identified by applying zero-phase filtering techniques to the raw test data. Next, an optimization procedure was utilized to extract parameters for the Dugoff tire model from the tire-on-ice drawbar pull coefficient versus slip ratio at certain levels of normal load and inflation tire pressure.