A novel brush-model with flexible carcass for transient interactions

Abstract

In this investigation, a double brush model, which aims at predicting both the longitudinal and the lateral tyre characteristics during transient phases, is developed. The solution of the tyre-road contact equation is provided by using the method of characteristics and a time delay of the bristles deformation with respect to the time is also introduced by modelling both the tyre tread and the carcass by means of viscoelastic and elastic elements, respectively. The temporal trend of some quantities of interest such as the adherence length and the critical slip value is then obtained as explicit function of the time or, equivalently, of the travelled distance. A preliminary analysis is carried out with reference to the transition from a pure rolling condition to accelerating or braking ones. The tyre response to a constant lateral slip input is also comprehensively discussed. Finally, in the case of consecutive manoeuvre, the model shows that all the generalised forces exerted by the road on the tyre vary continuously by introducing a finite increase in the slip parameter. Several examples are presented in order to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model to severe braking or handling dynamic scenarios.