Efficient Calculation of Tire Wear

Simulations of automotive chassis systems rely on tire models of different complexity. They are selected depending on the simulation’s objective. For instance, driving dynamics can be evaluated using rather simple variants, such as point contact models based on the Magic Formula. In contrast, the calculation of tire wear requires one of the most complex tire models. This is due to the highly dynamic phenomena in the tire-road contact. In comparison, the latter tire models take much longer to solve. If tire wear is to be optimized, numerous simulations would have to be carried out with such models. This leads to an overall computational effort, which is not feasible for productive use.

Therefore, we are developing a method to approximate and optimize tire wear more efficiently. Basically, tire wear is a function of the frictional power occurring between tire and road surface. Hence, the primary goal is to predict the frictional power distribution in the tire contact patch. Besides the total magnitude of the frictional power, predicting the correct distribution over the tire width is crucial.

Finally, a wear law is required to calculate the amount of wear. Such a law links the frictional power with the wear rate. The wear law can be developed and parametrized using the chair’s own tribometer.