Study Scaled Vehicle Tire Cornering Stiffness

Kirubaharan a/l Merapan@Mariappan Mochamad Safarudin

Department of Mechanical, Automotive Department of Mechanical Engineering
Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka Universitas Sangga Buana
Ayer Keroh, Melaka Bandung, Indonesia
kiru_87@yahoo.com.my sfrudin@yahoo.com

Abstract-This paper presents the study of
cornering stiffness of scaled vehicle tire.A
scaled RC car with the scale of 1:8 will be used
in this project. In this study, Newtonian
approach was used as a technique to solve the
modeling problem.A mathematical model is
derived and the model is developed to steady
state model in MATHLAB. Sensors will be
fixed on the Racing car to determine yaw rate γ
and lateral acceleration 𝒂𝒇 .By using the yaw
rate γ and lateral acceleration 𝒂𝒇 as input the
cornering stiffness value is obtained
interface able to provide the measured yaw rate of a moving
vehicle.The data from experiment is stored in matlab
software.The cornering stiffness is then estimated using
iteration method.From here, we can compare the experiment
data and the simulations data. The experiment and
simulation results also compared with the CarsimEd as a
verification of results.
II. Vehicle Model
By the use of Newton's law of motion (Gillepsie, 2001) and
some basic geometric relationships, the longitudinal velocity
v_x(t), the lateral velocity v_y(t) and the yaw rate r(t)
measured around the Center Of Gravity (COG) of the
vehicle can be described by the following three differential
equations:

I. Introduction
The bicycle vehicle model is a rather simple model structure
that is frequently being used in the vehicle dynamics
literature. In this study we will start-off with this model
structure and try to estimate the longitudinal and the lateral
stiffness of a tire. As a basis for our vehicle identification
experiments we first need to create an IDNLGREY model
file describing these vehicle equations. Here we rely on C-
MEX modeling and create a vehicle_c.c model file, in
which NY is set to 3. The IDNLGREY model file
describing these vehicle equations was modified according
to the scale model car. C-MEX modeling was used and the
number of output,Ny is set to 3 which is longitudinal
velocity,lateral acceleration and yaw acceleration.After
having a proper model structure file, the next step is to
create an IDNLGREY object reflecting the scaled car Figure 1: Schematic view of a vehicle dynamics system
modelling situation. The names and the units of the initial
states and the model parameters are specified via (Source:Matlab Vehicle Identification System)
SETINIT.This model contains 5 parameters and 3 outputs.
Sensors will be fixed on the cars to determine yaw rate γ
and lateral acceleration 𝑎𝑓 .Sensor identified to measure (Fxfl+Fxfr)cosδ–(Fyfl+Fyfr)sinδ + Fxrl+Fxrr = m𝑎𝑥 (1)
lateral acceleration is ADXL335.This sensor is a small,
thin, low power, complete 3-axis accel-erometer with signal (Fxfl+Fxfr)sinδ+(Fyfl+Fyfr)cosδ+Fyrl+Fyrr= m𝑎𝑦 (2)
conditioned voltage outputs.Sensor identified to measure
yaw rate is LISY300AL.This is a low-power single-axis ((Fxfl + Fxfr) Sinδ+ (Fyfl+Fyfr) cosδ) a – (Fyfl + Fyfr) cosδ
yaw rate sensor.It includes a sensing element and an IC – (Fyrl + Fyrr) b =Iyaw𝑟 ̈ (3)
The abbreviations FL, FR, RL and RR label the tires: Front test. The parameter needed for the model is shown in table
Left, Front Right, Rear Left and Rear Right, respectively. In below:
addition, delta(t) (an input) is the steering angle, J a moment
of inertia, and a and b the distances from the center of Vehicle Parameters Values
gravity to the front and rear axles, respectively. Distance of front axle to COG,(a) 0.2326m
Distance of rear axle to COG,(b) 0.2874m
the tire forces can be modeled through the following linear Vehicle mass, m (kg) 9.31kg
approximations: Longitudinal speed, Vx (m/s) 30km/h
F_x,i(t)=C_x*s_i(t) Table 1: Small Scale Parameters
F_y,i(t)=C_y*alpha_i(t)for i={FL,FR,RL,RR}

where C_x and C_y are the longitudinal and lateral tire
stiffness, respectively. Here we have assumed that these
stiffness parameters are the same for all 4 tires. s_i(t) is the
so-called (longitudinal) slip of tire i and alpha_i(t) a tire slip
angle. For a front-wheel drive vehicle the slips s_FL(t) and
s_FR(t) are derived from the individual wheel speeds
(measured) by assuming that the rear wheels do not show
any slip (i.e., s_RL(t) = s_RR(t) = 0). Hence the slips are
inputs to our model structure. For the front wheels, the tire
slip angels alpha_Fj(t) can be approximated by (when v_x(t)
> 0)
IV. Vehicle Operating System
A racing car with the scale of 1:8 is used in this testing The
weight of the car is around 9kg. This car isequipped with
remote controller therefore the vehicle can be controlled
from a certain range.The remote of the car is operated with a
9V battery.This scale model is uses the two stroke engine
cycle.Hence the vehicle requires 2t oil apart from the normal
petrol The car also consists of single piston,block,spark
plug,carburetor,exhaust pipe and oil tank.

(𝑉𝑦 + 𝑎𝛾)
𝛼𝑓𝑙/𝑟 = 𝛿𝑓 − 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 (4)
𝑉𝑥

For the rear wheels, the tire slip angels alpha_Rj (t) are
similarly derived and computed as

𝑉𝑦−𝑏𝛾
𝛼𝑟𝑙/𝑟 = (5)
𝑉𝑥
(14)
x1(t) = v_x(t) Longitudinal velocity [m/s].
x2(t) = v_y(t) Lateral velocity [m/s].
x3(t) = r(t) Yaw rate [rad/s].

the five measured or derived input signals

u1(t) = s_FL(t)(Slip of Front Left tire [ratio].)
u2(t) = s_FR(t) (Slip of Front Right tire [ratio])
u3(t) = s_RL(t) (Slip of Rear Left tire [ratio])
u4(t) = s_RR(t) (Slip of Rear Right tire [ratio])
u5(t) = delta(t) (Steering angle [rad])
and the model parameters
m =Mass of the vehicle [kg].
a =Distance from front axle to COG [m].
b =Distance from rear axle to COG [m].
Cx =Longitudinal tire stiffness [N].
Cy =Lateral tire stiffness [N/rad].
CA = Air resistance coefficient [1/m].
. the vehicle to go out of control and result in an
III. Parameters Of the Vehicle
In this model, the parameters used are based on the scaled
vehicle model. The parameters are for double lane change
Figure 2: Remote control racing car
V. Experiment
The double lane-change test is designed to stimulate an
emergency maneuver to determine vehicle handling. The
test is important because the more controllable and secure a
vehicle is when pushed to its handling limits the better
chance the occupants will avoid an accident. In situations
where an obstacle is in the way, steering around it can cause
rollover.During double lane change test lane is divided into
5 sections.The car is driven at 100km/h when it enters lane
1.The car is maneuvered to left after it reaches section 2 and
maintains in lane 2.The car is once again is maneuvered to
right after it reaches section 4 and maintained in lane 1 until
it exits section 5.The diagram of double lane change test is
shown below

Lane 1

Lane 2

Figure 3:Double lane change test

Double lane change test is performed on the scale model car Figure 5: Graph for longitudinal velocity for double
lane change of the scaled vehicle model
to obtain the longitudinal velocity,lateral acceleration and
yaw rate of the car.Bricks are arranged as shown in the
image below.The distance between 2 consecutive bridge is
1.5m.The car is placed in such a distance that its
longitudinal velocity reach 50km/h after reaching the first
brick.This reading is observed in the sensor.Next the car is
tested and follows the track as shown in the image below.

Figure 6: Graph for lateral acceleration for double

Bricks lane change of the scaled vehicle model

1.5m 1.5m 1.5m 1.5m

Figure 4:Illustration of double lane change test

VI. Results

Based on the experiment described, the output results obtain

for the both final experiments is the yaw rate and the lateral
acceleration. The results data obtain in the deg/s for both
experiments. The results converted in the m/s² for lateral Figure 7: Graph for yaw rate for double lane change
acceleration and yaw rate in rad/s.The results obtain for of the scaled vehicle model
double lane change test is shown below.
The trend of longitudinal velocity,lateral acecleration and
yaw rate graphs obtain during experiment is compared with
the actual graph and the results is shown below.
 Cornering stiffness Value(N/rad)
Lateral stiffness,Cx 50
Longitudinal stiffness,Cy 40

Table 2:Cornering stiffness value

Figure 8:Comparison between actual and experimentation
longitudinal velocity
Figure 9:Comparison between actual and experimentation
lateral acceleration
V1 Conclusion
The cornering stiffness can be measured by various
methods.The parameter estimation theorem will be used in
his project. The relationship between the cornering force
and the slip angle is of fundamental importance to the
directional control and stability of road vehicles..Sensors
play an important role in this project because it will be fixed
on the Racing car to determine yaw rate γ and lateral
acceleration 𝑎𝑓 .Mounting of the sensor is important because
it will vibration will affect the sensor reading.The
approximations introduced in the model structure above are
valid for a rather narrow operation region, and data during
high accelerations or braking cannot be used.Hence the
speed of the car must be maintained throughout the
experiment
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