Optimization of a Tire Traction Model for Antilock Brake System Simulations

Abstract

The cost effective design of antilock brake systems for automobiles requires the use of computer aided design and analysis techniques, as well as traditional invehicle testing. An important consideration in the simulation of the vehicle and brake dynamics is the generation of the shear forces and aligning torques at the tire/road interface. Frequently, experimental tire data gathered over a limited number of road surfaces is extrapolated to test antilock brake systems on a variety of roads. However, this approach may lead to problems in correlating the simulated system performance with actual vehicle tests. In this study, nonlinear programming strategies are applied to an analytical tire model to facilitate the selection of system variables. The formulation of an optimization problem to determine these variables permits the generation of shear forces which correspond fairly well with the empirical data. Simulation results are presented and discussed for five road surfaces to indicate the overall performance of this technique.