Lateral tyre dynamic characteristics

The ability to model the ride vibration of unsuspended vehicles is at present seriously limited by lack of knowledge about the lateral and longitudinal dynamic characteristics of rolling tyres and the interaction of these characteristics with the ground surface. In this paper, models for the lateral dynamic behaviour of a rolling tyre are reviewed. The beam model, string model and spring-damper models are described and compared. A new lateral tyre model is introduced and tested against experimental results. This model comprises a parallel spring and hysteretic damping unit, representing the tyre carcass, in series with a viscous damper representing the interaction between the tyre and ground. Model justification was made against the measurements of lateral tyre response. The results showed that the proposed model provided more accurate prediction of lateral dynamic tyre response than the other spring-damper models.