Experimental and Simulative Methods for the Analysis of Vehicle-Tire-Pavement Interaction

This subproject of the research group FOR2089 focuses on the vehicle-induced road load and the interaction between vehicle, tire and road. The here presented measurement methods are not only used to validate the different simulation models established by the research group members, but also to parametrize and optimize physical tire models for the application to real road topology as well as asphalt texture models. In comparison to models with a single-point road contact, a discretized tire footprint interacts locally with the road, which allows the investigation of ground pressure and shear stress distribution on varying surfaces. In previous studies, this local road load has not been validated at this level of detail. By a holistic analysis of the tire’s influence on the vehicle and the road at the same time, a more realistic vehicle-tire-pavement behavior can be predicted by the simulation models. This chapter is separated into two parts. The first part mainly focusses on methods regarding vertical forces. As heavy-duty vehicles cause the highest loads on the main traffic routes, the methods for vertical dynamics are applied for heavy-duty purposes. The influence of different component model approaches on the road load are presented and validated using a hydraulic axle test rig. The second part presents methods for analyzing horizontal forces in the tire-road interface on a passenger car level to take advantage of specialized measurement systems. The influence of asphalt modulation on the tire force transmission mechanisms and the vehicle dynamics are presented. Furthermore, the friction characteristics on asphalt is investigated with a special regard to future tire measurement on artificial surfaces with asphalt texture.