Tires are of paramount importance in vehicle dynamics. They are the only vehicle’s
components in contact with the road and hence transmitting necessary forces and
moments for the vehicle to accelerate, brake and turn. So far, temperature influence
on tire behavior has not hold car manufacturers’ interest so much. Tire models were
usually limited to be mathematical models taking into account tire and axle geometry
mechanical properties, normal load and inflation pressure. However, some differences
appeared when comparing forces and moments estimated by tire models and
measured test data. Part of these differences is now believed to be due to variation in
tire thermal properties when the tire is subject to different stress types (slip and
camber angles, normal load, inflation pressure, vehicle speed…).
The aim of this study is to perform a thermal analysis of the tire. How its surface
temperature varies depending on various conditions and how these variations
influence the tire behavior will be of prior concern. Hence, some indoor tests will be
performed by positioning the tire on the MTS Flat-Trac® III tire test system and using
infrared sensors to measure the tire surface temperature. Experiments will be based on
an experimental design where all the parameters believed to have an influence on the
tire temperature will vary. Results will allow understanding which parameters are of
primary importance for the temperature and will also be used to build up an empirical
tire thermal effects model. This latter will be used in parallel with the currently used
Pacejka model and take into account the variation of tire performance in terms of
lateral forces. Eventually, the validation of the model will be done performing full
vehicle tests