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First Order Tire Dynamics

Conference Paper · January 2006

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 III European Conference on Computational Mechanics
Solids, Structures and Coupled Problems in Engineering
C.A. Mota Soares et.al. (eds.)
Lisbon, Portugal, 5–8 June 2006

FIRST ORDER TIRE DYNAMICS

Georg Rill

University of Applied Sciences Regensburg

Galgenbergstr. 30
D-93053 Regensburg
e-mail: GeorgRill@aol.com

Keywords: Tire Modeling, Tire Dynamics, Stick Slip Effects

Abstract. In this paper a method is presented where the first order tire dynamics are generated
by a Taylor-Expansion of the steady state forces and torques. Thus, relaxation lengths which
include the wheel load and slip dependencies are automatically generated from the steady state
tire properties. Slight model modifications make it possible to simulate even stick slip effects
during parking maneuvers. The results of this simple but effective approach correspond quite
well with measurements.

1
G. Rill First Order Tire Dynamics

1 Introduction
1.1 Tire Modeling
For the dynamic simulation of on-road vehicles, the model-element “tire/road” is of special
importance, according to its influence on the achievable results. It can be said that the suffi-
cient description of the interactions between tire and road is one of the most important tasks
of vehicle modeling, because all the other components of the chassis influence the vehicle dy-
namic properties via the tire contact forces and torques. Therefore, in the interest of balanced
modeling, the precision of the complete vehicle model should stand in reasonable relation to
the performance of the applied tire model. At present, two groups of models can be identified,
handling models and structural or high frequency models, [4].
Structural tire models like RMOD-K [6] or FTire [1] are very complex. These models are
computer time consuming and they need a lot a data. Usually, they are used for stochastic
vehicle vibrations occurring during rough road rides and causing strength-relevant component
loads, [8].
Comparatively lean tire models are suitable for vehicle dynamics simulations, while, with
the exception of some elastic partial structures such as twist-beam axles in cars or the vehicle
frame in trucks, the elements of the vehicle structure can be seen as rigid.
Handling models like the MF-formula [7] or TMeasy [2] rely also on measured and observed
force-slip characteristics. This class of tire models is characterized by an useful compromise
between user-friendliness, model-complexity and efficiency in computation time on the one
hand, and precision in representation on the other hand.

1.2 Steady State Tire Forces and Torques

In any point of contact between the tire and the road surface normal and friction forces are
transmitted, Fig. 1. For the calculation of the contact patch geometry the tire is considered as

Fx longitudinal force
Fy lateral force
Fz vertical force or wheel load eyR

Tx tipping torque
Fy
Ty rolling resistance torque Ty
Tx
Tz self aligning and bore torque Tz
Fx Fz

Figure 1: Tire forces and torques

a rigid body. Then, the tire deformation, the orientation of the local contact area, the location
of the contact point, and the contact point velocities can be calculated from the momentary
state of the wheel rim and the description of the road surface. Adding the knowledge or at
least an approximation about the tire elasticity results in the wheel load Fz and the tipping
torque Tx . The rolling resistance torque Ty which is less important for vehicle dynamics may
be approximated by a rolling resistance lever, [5].
Within handling models the steady state tire forces in longitudinal and lateral direction are

2
G. Rill First Order Tire Dynamics

approximated by appropriate functions

FxS = FxS (sx , sy , . . .) (1)

FyS = FyS (sx , sy , . . .) (2)

which mainly depend on the longitudinal and lateral slip sx and sy . The steady state torque
TzS around an axis perpendicular to the local road plane consists of the self aligning torque
TSS = co FyS and the bore torque TBS

TzS = co FyS + TBS (sB . . .) , (3)

where co = co (sy ) names the tire caster and sB denotes a bore slip.

1.3 Simple Dynamic Extension

Measurements show that the dynamic reaction of the tire forces and torques to disturbances
can be approximated quite well by first order systems. Then, the dynamic tire forces FxD , FyD
and the dynamic tire torque TzD are given by first order differential equations

τx ḞxD + FxD = FxS (4)

τy ḞyD + FyD = FyS (5)
τψ ṪzD + TzD = TzS (6)

which are driven by the the steady values FxS , FyS and TzS . The tread particles of a rolling tire
move with the transport velocity rD |Ω| through the contact patch, where rD and Ω denote the
dynamic rolling radius and the angular velocity of the wheel. Now, time constants τi , can be
derived from so called relaxation lengths ri
ri
τi = i = x, y, ψ . (7)
rD |Ω|
But it turned out that these relaxation lengths are functions of the longitudinal and lateral slip
sx , sy and the wheel load Fz , Fig. 2. Therefore, constant relaxation lengths will approximate
the real tire behavior in zero order approximation only. An appropriate model for the dynamic
tire performance would be of great advantage because then, the cumbersome task of deriving
the relaxation lengths from measurements can be avoided.

2 Force Dynamics
2.1 Lateral Force
The lateral force Fy acting in the contact patch deflects the tyre in lateral direction, Fig. 3.
The first order approximation
∂Fy
Fy (vy + ẏe ) ≈ Fy (vy ) + ẏe (8)
| {z } | {z } ∂vy
FyD FyS

takes the lateral tyre deflection ye into account. Within TMeasy [2] the lateral slip is defined by
−vy
sy = , (9)
rD |Ω|

3
G. Rill First Order Tire Dynamics

0.7

0.6 Fz = 2 kN
ry [m] Fz = 4 kN
0.5 Fz = 6 kN

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
slip angle [o]

Figure 2: Measured lateral force relaxation length for a typical passenger car tire, [3]

where vy describes the sliding velocity of the contact point in lateral direction, rD |Ω| denotes
the velocity with which the tread particles are transported through the contact area. Now, the
derivative of the lateral force Fy with respect to the lateral component vy of the contact point
velocity can be calculated from
∂Fy ∂Fy ∂sy ∂Fy −1
= = , (10)
∂vy ∂sy ∂vy ∂sy rD |Ω|

where ∂Fy /∂sy can easily be derived from the lateral force characteristics Fy = Fy (sy , . . .).
If cy and dy denote the lateral stiffness and the lateral damping property of the tire then, the

rim

cy
dy

tire ye vy
Fy
Q P

Figure 3: Lateral Tyre Deflection

dynamic tire force FyD = Fy (vy + ẏe ) will also result from

FyD = cy ye + dy ẏe . (11)

Inserting (10) into (8) and combining it with (11) yields a first order differential equation for
the lateral tire deflection ye
∂Fy −1
FyS + ẏe = cy ye + dy ẏe (12)
∂sy rD |Ω|

4
G. Rill First Order Tire Dynamics

which can be written as

FyS
!
1 ∂Fy 1
dy + ẏe + ye = . (13)
cy ∂sy rD |Ω| cy
| {z }
τy

According to (7) the relaxation length for the lateral tire deflection and hence, for the lateral tire
force is now given by
!
1 ∂Fy 1 dy 1 rD |Ω| ∂Fy
ry = rD |Ω| τy = rD |Ω| dy + = rD |Ω| + . (14)
cy ∂sy rD |Ω| cy cy rD |Ω| ∂sy

This simple model approach already leads to a relaxation length which is automatically adapted
to the tire parameter. The relaxation length ry for the lateral tire deflection depends on the wheel
load Fz and it is a function of the lateral slip sy or the slip angle α = arctan sy , Fig. 4. This

Lateral force characteristics Fy Relaxation length ry

8 0.8
[kN] [m] Fz=2 kN
6 0.6 Fz=4 kN
Fz=6 kN
Fz=8 kN
4 0.4

2 0.2

0 0
0 5 10 15 0 2 4 6 8 10
slip angle [o] slip angle [o]

Figure 4: Lateral force characteristics and computed relaxation length for a typical passenger car tire (S205/50
R15, 6J) with cy = 160 000 N/m, dy = 600 N/(m/s), rD |Ω| = 60 km/h

approach needs steady state tire characteristics only. By introducing an appropriate weighting
function this simple approach can be adapted to measured relaxation lengths.

2.2 Longitudinal Force

Similar to the lateral force dynamics the first order approximation
∂Fx
Fx (vx + ẋe ) ≈ Fx (vx ) + ẋe (15)
| {z } | {z } ∂vx
FxD FxS

takes the longitudinal tyre deflection xe into account. The derivative of the longitudinal force
Fx with respect to the longitudinal component vx of the contact point velocity can be calculated
from
∂Fx ∂Fx ∂sx ∂Fx −1
= = (16)
∂vx ∂sx ∂vx ∂sx rD |Ω|

5
G. Rill First Order Tire Dynamics

where the longitudinal slip definition

rD Ω − v x
sx = (17)
rD |Ω|
was used to generate the derivative of the longitudinal slip with respect to the longitudinal
component of the contact point velocity. The partial derivative of the longitudinal force Fx with
respect to the longitudinal slip sx will be provided by the steady state tire characteristics.
If cx and dx denote the longitudinal stiffness and the longitudinal damping of the tyre, the
dynamic tire force FxD = Fx (vx + ẋe ) can also be calculated by
FxD = cx xe + dx ẋe . (18)
Combining (15) and (18) results in a first order differential equation for the longitudinal tyre
deflection xe !
∂Fx 1
dx + ẋe = FxS − cx xe . (19)
∂sx rD |Ω|
Again, the dynamics of the longitudinal tire deflection and hence, of the longitudinal tire force
can be characterized in the space domain by the relaxation length
dx 1 ∂Fx
rx = rD |Ω| + . (20)
cx cx ∂sx
Via the partial derivative ∂Fx /∂sx the relaxation length depends on the wheel load Fz and on
the longitudinal slip sx , Fig. 5.

Longitudinal force characteristics Fx Relaxation length rx

10 1.0
Fz=2 kN
8 0.8 Fz=4 kN
[kN] [m] Fz=6 kN
6 0.6 Fz=8 kN

4 0.4

2 0.2

0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 2 4 6 8 10
slip [%] slip [%]

Figure 5: Longitudinal force characteristics and computed relaxation length for a typical passenger car tire
(S205/50 R15, 6J) with cy = 220 000 N/m, dy = 700 N/(m/s), rD |Ω| = 60 km/h

3 Torque Dynamics
3.1 Self Aligning Torque
The self aligning torque is generated by the lateral force. By neglecting a possible dynamics
of the tire offset the dynamic self aligning torque can be approximated by
TSD = −co FyD , (21)
where co denotes the steady state tire offset and the dynamics of the lateral tire force FyD char-
acterized by the relaxation length (14) also defines the dynamics of the self aligning torque.

6
G. Rill First Order Tire Dynamics

3.2 Bore Torque

Similar to the longitudinal and lateral slip a bore slip can be defined by
−rB ωn
sB = , (22)
rD |Ω|

where rB denotes the bore radius of the contact patch and ωn describes the component of the
wheel angular velocity around an axis normal to the road. Such bore motions will occur if the
tire is cambered or if the wheel is steered. Now, the steady state bore torque can roughly be
modeled by  
TBS = rB dF0 sB , with TBS  ≤ rB F max , (23)
 

where dF0 and F max are the initial inclination and the maximum value of the generalized tire
force characteristics which is used in TMeasy [2] to generate combined tire forces. Similar to
the tire forces the dynamic bore torque can be modeled in a first approximation by

∂TBS
TBD = TB (ωn + ψt ) = TBS + ψ̇t , (24)
∂ωn
where ψt describes the torsional tire deflection. Using (23) and (22) one gets
−rB
TBD = TBS + rB dF0 ψ̇t . (25)
rD |Ω|

But, the dynamic bore torque can also be calculated via the torsional tire stiffness ct and the
torsional tyre damping dt
TBD = ct ψt + dt ψ̇t . (26)
These two equations can be combined to a first order differential equation for the torsional tire
deflection ψt
2
!
rB dF0
dt + ψ̇t = TBS − ct ψt (27)
rD |Ω|
Hence, the relaxation length
dt 1 2
rψ = rD |Ω| + r dF0 (28)
ct ct B
characterizes the dynamics of the torsional tire deflection and the bore torque. In this simple
approach rψ depends only on the wheel load Fz but, this corresponds quite well with measure-
ments, Fig.6

3.3 Parking Torque

Equation (27) is not yet ready to describe steering motions at stand still where Ω ≈ 0 will
hold. Multiplying (27) with rD |Ω| yields
 
2
rD |Ω| dt + rB dF0 ψ̇t = rD |Ω| TBS − rD |Ω| ct ψt . (29)

Using the first part of (23) and (22) results in

 
2 2
rD |Ω| dt + rB dF0 ψ̇t = −rB dF0 ωn − rD |Ω| ct ψt . (30)

7
G. Rill First Order Tire Dynamics

measured computed
800 800
Fz = 1 kN
rψ [mm]

rψ [mm]
Fz = 3 kN Fz = 3 kN
600 600
Fz = 5 kN Fz = 5 kN
Fz = 7 kN
400 400

200 200

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20
Slip Angle α [o] Slip Angle α [o]

Figure 6: Measured [3] and computed bore torque relaxation length (ct = 9 000 N m/rad)

Now, at stand still (Ω = 0) the simple differential equation

ψ̇t = −ωn − rD |Ω| ct ψt (31)

remains which means that the torsional tire deflection ψt is increased or decreased as long as
steering motions ωn 6= 0 are performed. But the differential equation (30) does not yet take
into account that the steady state bore torque is limited to a maximum value. Applying this
restriction to the steady state part of the dynamic bore torque results in
 
 S
TB  ≤ TBmax or |ct ψt | ≤ TBmax , (32)

where TBmax = rB F max names the maximum bore torque. Combining (32) with (30) finally
yields
r2 dF ωn + rD |Ω| ct ψt
ψ̇t∗ = − B 0 2
;
rD |Ω| dt + rB dF0
 (33)
 ψ̇ ∗ if |ct ψt | ≤ T max ,

t B
ψ̇t = 
 0 if |ct ψt | > TBmax & ψt ψ̇t∗ > 0 .
Fig. 7 shows the results of a low frequency sine steer input at stand still. Of course this
simple first order bore torque dynamics results only in a rough approximation to the real tire
behavior. But this approach is based on steady state tire properties and generates and automatic
transition from stand still (vt = 0) to normal driving situations (vt 6= 0).

4 Conclusion
In this paper a method is presented where the first order tire dynamics is generated by a
Taylor-Expansion of the steady state forces and torques. Thus, relaxations lengths which in-
clude the wheel load and slip dependencies are automatically generated from the steady state
tire properties. Slight model modifications make it possible to simulate stick slip effects during
parking maneuvers. The results of this simple but effective approach correspond quite well with
measurements.

8
 G. Rill First Order Tire Dynamics

400
measured
computed

TB [Nm]
200

-200

-400
-20 -10 0 10 20
ψwheel [o]

Figure 7: Measured [3] and computed bore torque at stand still

REFERENCES
[1] Flexible Ring Tire Model Documentation and User’s Guide. Cosin Consulting 2004,
http://www.ftire.com.

[2] Hirschberg, W; Rill, G. Weinfurter, H.: User-Appropriate Tyre-Modeling for Vehicle Dy-
namics in Standard and Limit Situations. Vehicle System Dynamics 2002, Vol. 38, No. 2,
pp. 103-125. Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.

[3] van der Jagt, P.: The Road to Virtual Vehicle Prototyping; new CAE-models for acceler-
ated vehicle dynamics development. PhD-Thesis, Tech. Univ. Eindhoven, Eindhoven 2000,
ISBN 90-386-2552-9 NUGI 834.

[4] Lugner, P.; Pacejka, H.; Plöchl,M.: Recent advances in tyre models and testing procedures.
Vehicle System Dynamics, Vol. 43, No. 67, JuneJuly 2005, 413436.

[5] Mitschke, M.; Wallentowitz, H.: Dynamik der Kraftfahrzeuge. 4. Auflage. Springer-Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg 2004.

[6] Oertel, Ch.; Fandre, A.: Ride Comfort Simulations an Steps Towards Life Time Calcula-
tions; RMOD-K and ADAMS. International ADAMS User Conference, Berlin 1999.

[7] Pacejka, H.B.: Tyre and Vehicle Dynamics. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002.

[8] Riepl, A.; Reinalter, W.; Fruhmann, G.: Rough Road Simulation with tire model RMOD-K
and FTire. In: Proc. of the 18th IAVSD Symposium on the Dynamics of vehicles on Roads
and on Tracks. Kanagawa, Japan, 2003. Taylor & Francis, London UK.

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