Tyre Model TMeasy

CCG Seminar TV 4.08

Tyre Models in Vehicle Dynamics: Theory and Application
Sept 20-21, 2010, Vienna

Wolfgang Hirschberg, Georg Rill, Heinz Weinfurter

The present contribution is concerned with the semi-physical tyre model TMeasy for vehicle
dynamics and handling analyses. Even in the case of more or less weak testing input data,
the effort for the application of TMeasy remains limited due to its consequent easy to use
orientation. One particular feature of TMeasy is the widely physical meaning of its smart
parameter set, which allows to sustain the identification process even under uncertain conditions.
After a general introduction, the modeling concept of TMeasy is compactly described in this
contribution. Taking the interface STI to MBS software into account, the way how to apply
TMeasy is briefly shown. This includes selected examples of application.

1 Introduction
1.1 Overall concept of TMeasy
TMeasy is a semi-physical tyre model for low frequency applications in vehicle dynamics. It has
consequently been following an easy to use strategy which takes the existing insufficiencies in
the availability of reliable testing data into account. In order to fulfil this aim, the number of
model parameters of TMeasy is rather limited according to the limited availability and accuracy
of the basic experimental data. On the other hand the more or less direct physical meaning
of the TMeasy model parameters enables their identification also in the case of unsure or even
incomplete measurement data sets.
Within TMeasy the contact force characteristics in longitudinal and lateral direction are described by a handful of physical parameters, which takes the degressive influence of decreasing
tyre load into account. The load influence can be easily decsribed by providing these parameters for the nominal payload and its double value. The combined force characteristics are then
directly generated via a generalised slip approach which does not need any additional fitting

Graz University of Technology, Austria

Regensburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany

IBH, St.Ulrich/Steyr, Austria

1 Introduction
parameters. TMeasy also computes the tyre load as the third component of the tyre contact
forces.
The self aligning torque is approximated by the product of lateral force and the pneumatic
trail, which again is described by few physical parameters. TMeasy also includes the calculation
of the rolling resistance torque, the tipping torque and the bore (turn) torque around the normal
axis. The approximative calculation of the contact geometry delivers the camber angle which
influence on the contact forces and torques is considered within a certain range of application.
As long as the contact patch remains as a closed area TMeasy can handle uneven roads too.
Typical applications are wave tracks, longitudinal grooves and change of road inclination, which
are offered as special road types additionally to the standard even road including an arbitrary
subarea of deviating friction.
In order to model the time delay at transient force changes TMeasy includes nonlinear first
order dynamics for the longitudinal and lateral tyre forces as well as for the aligning torque and
the bore torque. The latter allows to consider the steering effort while parking. Again there are
no additional parameters spent for the first order filters, whereas the variable relaxation lengths
are directly calculated from known physical tyre properties.

1.2 History
TMeasy was developed under the primary aspect of practical applicability in vehicle dynamics.
The first version was published in [8]. It has to be mentioned that from that time some TMeasy
derivatives are widely in use which are also named TMeasy. Known reproductions are used by
dSPACE in the Vehicle Dynamics Simulation Package ASM [17] and in the program for accident
reconstruction PC-Crash [16]. Another implementation of TMeasy into Dymola is known, [18].
Of course, these externally created versions are excluded from the official TMeasy software
maintenance.
Based on increasing experiences from passenger car and truck applications, an improved version 2.0 was created. The steady state part is published in [3] and the modeling concept for
dynamic tyre forces and torques can be found in [9]. In 2003, enhancements in the discretisation
of the contact geometry led to version 3.0. Besides some enhancements with respect to MBS
integration via the Standard Tyre Interface (STI), the version TMeasy 4.0 includes a parking
torque model. This actual version was applied for the Tyre Performance Test programme TMPT
which was organised by the Vienna University of Technology in 2007, [4].
A new version 5.0 is currently in preparation which include a sophisticated model for the
computation of the dynamic tyre forces which provides a smooth transition from stand still to
normal driving situations.

1.3 Applications
For many years MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG have been using TMeasy within the simulation system
SIMPACK [20] for the investigation of the dynamics and safety of heavy trucks, [5], [14]. In the
meantime, TMeasy has been offered as an official, optional tyre model for vehicle dynamics in
SIMPACK.
Furthermore, TMeasy is integrated as the standard tyre model into the simulation system
veDyna [21], which is widely applied for off-line and on-line simulation of road vehicles. Recently,
the implementation of TMeasy into the MBS system Adams [15] was successfully carried out
and validated, [1] [7] [2].

2 Modeling Concept

2 Modeling Concept
2.1 Contact Geometry
2.1.1 Local Track Plane and Geometric Contact Point
In any point of contact between the tyre and the road surface normal and friction forces are
transmitted. The effect of the contact forces can be fully described by a resulting force vector
applied at a specific point of the contact patch and a torque vector.

undeflected
tire contour

M
x +x

+y y
uneven
road

undeflected
tire contour

en
Q2

P Q1

longitudinal
inclination

lateral
inclination Q3

uneven
road

en
P

Q4

Figure 1: Inclination of local track plane in longitudinal and lateral direction

To calculate the geometric contact point an uneven road described by a function of two
spatial coordinates z = z(x, y) is approximated by a local track plane. In order to get a good
approximation to the local track inclination in longitudinal and lateral direction four points will
be used to determine the local track normal. The points Q1 to Q4 are placed on the track in
the front, in the rear, to the left, and to the right of the wheel center, Fig. 1. The vector rQ2 Q1
pointing from Q1 to Q2 and the vector rQ4 Q3 pointing from Q3 to Q4 define the inclination of
the local track plane in longitudinal and lateral direction. Hence, the local track normal reads
en =

rQ2 Q1 rQ4 Q3
.
| rQ2 Q1 rQ4 Q3 |

(1)

As in reality, sharp bends and discontinuities, which will occur at step- or ramp-sized obstacles,
are smoothed by this approach.
The rim center plane is defined by the unit vector eyR into the direction of the wheel rotation
axis, Fig. 2. The unit vector ex into the direction of the intersection line of the local track plane
and the rim center plane defines the direction of the longitudinal tyre force. The direction of the
lateral tyre force is described by the unit vector ey which is mutual perpendicular to the track
normal en and the unit vector ex into the direction longitudinal tyre force. The tyre camber
angle


= arcsin eTyR en
(2)
describes the inclination of the wheel rotation axis eyR against the local track normal en . The
point P on the intersection line with the shortest distance to the wheel center M serves as
geometric contact point. Its location is described by the vector
r0P = r0M + rM P ,

(3)

where r0M defines the momentary position of the rim center M with respect to the earth-fixed
reference frame 0 and the vector from the rim center to the geometric contact track point can
be written as
rM P = rS ezR ,
(4)

2 Modeling Concept

rim
centre
plane e zR

tire

e yR

rMP

e yR

en

wheel
carrier

ex
b
P0 a
ey P

en
P0
z0

P*

local road plane

x0
road: z = z ( x , y )

y0

x0
y0

z0

Figure 2: Contact geometry

where rS names the static tyre radius and the unit vector ezR = ex eyR defines the radial
direction.
2.1.2 Static Contact Point
Assuming that the pressure distribution on a cambered tyre with full road contact corresponds
with the trapezoidal shape of the deflected tyre area, the acting point of the resulting vertical
tyre force FZ will be shifted from the geometric contact point P to the static contact point Q,
Fig. 3.

rS

b/2

en
P

ey
z

r0-rSL

en

Fz
A

ey

r0-rSR

Q
Fz

yQ

wC

wC

Figure 3: Lateral deviation of contact point at full and partial contact

The center of the trapezoidal area determines the lateral deviation yQ . As long as the tyre is
in full contact with road, the relation
yQ =

b2 tan
12 4z cos

(5)

will hold, where b is the width of the tyre, 4z denotes the tyre deflection and names the tyre
camber angle. If the cambered tyre has only a partial contact to the road then, according to

2 Modeling Concept
the deflection area a triangular pressure distribution will be assumed. Now, the location of the
static contact point Q is given by


1
b
yQ =
wC
,
(6)
3
2 cos
where wC defines the actual width of the contact patch and the term b/(2 cos ) describes the
distance from the geometric contact point P to the outer corner of the contact patch. The plus
sign holds for positive and the minus sign for negative camber angles. The static contact point
described by the vector
r0Q = r0P + yQ ey
(7)
represents the contact patch much better than the geometric contact point.
2.1.3 Contact Point Velocity
The absolute velocity of the static contact point will be obtained from
v0Q,0 = r0M,0 + rM Q,0 ,

(8)

where r0M,0 = v0M,0 denotes the absolute velocity of the wheel center and rM Q describes the
position of static contact point Q relative to the wheel center M . The vector rM Q contains the
tyre deflection 4z normal to the road and it takes part on all those motions of the wheel carrier
which do not contain elements of the wheel rotation. Hence, its time derivative can be calculated
from

rM Q,0 = 0R,0
rM Q,0 + 4z en,0 ,
(9)

is the angular velocity of the wheel rim without any component in the direction of
where 0R
the wheel rotation axis, 4z denotes the change of the tyre deflection, and en describes the road
normal. As the static contact point Q lies on the track, v0Q,0 must not contain any component
normal to the track

eTn,0 v0Q,0 = 0
or
eTn,0 v0M,0 + 0R,0
rM Q,0 + 4z eTn,0 en,0 = 0 .
(10)

As en,0 is a unit vector, eTn,0 en,0 = 1 will hold, and then, the time derivative of the tyre deformation
is simply given by

4z = eTn,0 v0M,0 + 0R,0

rM Q,0 .
(11)
Finally, the components of the contact point velocity in longitudinal and lateral direction are
obtained from
vx = eTx,0 v0Q,0 and vy = eTy,0 v0Q,0 .
(12)

2.2 Wheel Load and Tipping Torque

The vertical tyre force Fz can be calculated as a function of the normal tyre deflection 4z and
the deflection velocity 4z.
In a first approximation it is separated into a static and a dynamic
part
.
(13)
Fz (4z, 4z)
= FzS (4z) + FzD (4z)
Because the tyre can only apply pressure forces to the road the normal force is restricted to
Fz 0. The static part is described as a nonlinear function of the normal tyre deflection
FzS = a1 4z + a2 (4z)2 ,

(14)

2 Modeling Concept
where the constants a1 and a2 may be calculated from the radial stiffness at nominal and double
payload. The parabolic approximation in Eq. (14) fits very well to the measurements, [3]. The
dynamic part is roughly approximated by
FzD = dR 4z ,

(15)

where dR is a constant describing the radial tyre damping, and the derivative of the tyre deformation 4z is given by Eq. (11).
The lateral shift of the vertical tyre force Fz from the geometric contact point P to the static
contact point Q is equivalent to a force applied in P and a tipping torque Tx acting around a
longitudinal axis in P , Fig. 4.

en
ey

en

ey

P Q
y

en
P

Fz

Fz

ey

Q
P

Tx

Fz

Figure 4: Cambered tyre with full and partial contact

The use of the tipping torque instead of shifting the contact point is limited to those cases
where the tyre has full or nearly full contact to the road. If the cambered tyre has only partly
contact to the road, the geometric contact point P may even be located outside the contact area
whereas the static contact point Q is still a real contact point.

2.3 Generalised Tyre Force

During general driving situations, e.g. acceleration or deceleration in curves, longitudinal slip
and lateral slip defined by
sx =

(vx rD )
rD ||

and sy =

vy
rD ||

(16)

appear simultaneously. Here, vx and vy are the components of the contact point velocity in
longitudinal and lateral direction, describes the angular velocity of the wheel and rD is the
dynamic rolling radius. Both slips can vectorially be added to a generalised slip
s 
 2
q
2

2

2
sx
sy
s =
+
=
sN
+ sN
,
(17)
x
y
sx
sy
N
where a normalization was performed, sx sN
x and sy sy , in order to achieve a nearly equally
weighted contribution to the generalised slip. If the wheel locks, the average transport velocity
will vanish, rD || = 0. Hence, longitudinal, lateral, and generalised slip will tend to infinity,
N
s . To avoid this problem, the normalised slips sN
x and sy are modified to

sN
x =

sx
(vx rD )
=
sx
rD || sx

and
sN
y =

sy
vy
=
sy
rD || sy

sN
x =

sN
y =

(vx rD )
rD || sx + vN

vy
.
rD || sy + vN

(18)

(19)

2 Modeling Concept
When choosing small values vN > 0 the singularity at rD || = 0 is avoided. In addition, the
generalised slip points then into the direction of the sliding velocity for a locked wheel. In
normal driving situations, where rD ||  vN holds, the differences between the primary and
the modified slips are hardly noticeable.
Fx

Fx

Fx

Fy

0
dF x

sx
sM
x

sSx

Fy Fy

dF 0
FS

FM

Fy

F(s)
Fx

sy

dF y
sSy
sS
sM

sy

sM
y

sx

Figure 5: Generalised tyre characteristics

The graph F = F (s) of the generalised tyre force can be defined by the characteristic parameters dF 0 , sM , F M , sS and F S , Fig. 5. These parameters are calculated from the corresponding
values of the longitudinal and lateral force characteristics. An elliptic function grants a smooth
transition from the characteristic curve of longitudinal to the curve of lateral forces in the range
of = 0 to = 90 . The longitudinal and the lateral forces follow then from the according
projections in longitudinal
sN
F N
Fx = F cos = F x =
sx = f s N
x
s
s

(20)

and lateral direction

sN
F N
y
Fy = F sin = F
=
sy = f sN
(21)
y ,
s
s
where f = F/s describes the global derivative of the generalised tyre force characteristics.
The generalised tyre force characteristics F = F (s) is now approximated in intervals by
appropriate functions, Fig. 6. In the first interval a rational fraction is used which is defined by
the initial inclination dF 0 and the location sM and the magnitude F M of the maximum tyre
force. Then, the generalised tyre force characteristics is smoothly continued by two parabolas
until it finally reaches the sliding area, were the generalised tyre force is simply approximated
by a straight line.

2.4 Self Aligning Torque

The distribution of the lateral forces over the contact patch length also defines the point of
application of the resulting lateral force. At small slip values this point lies behind the center

2 Modeling Concept
FM

parabola

FS
parabola

dF0

straight
line

rational
function

s*

sM

sS

Figure 6: Approximation of generalised tyre characteristics

of the contact patch (contact point P). With increasing slip values it moves forward, sometimes
even before the center of the contact patch. At extreme slip values, when practically all particles
are sliding, the resulting force is applied at the center of the contact patch. The resulting lateral
force Fy with the dynamic tyre offset or pneumatic trail n as a lever arm generates the self
aligning torque
TS = n Fy .
(22)
The dynamic tyre offset can be normalised by the length of the contact patch L.
n/L

n/L

(n/L)0

(n/L)0

s0y

sSy

sy

s0y

sy

Figure 7: Normalised tyre offset with and without overshoot

The normalised dynamic tyre offset starts at sy = 0 with an initial value (n/L)0 > 0 and, it
tends to zero, n/L 0 at large slip values, sy sSy . Sometimes the normalised dynamic tyre
offset overshoots to negative values before it reaches zero again. This behavior can be modeled
by introducing the slip values s0y and sSy where the normalised dynamic tyre offset overshoots
and reaches zero again as additional model parameter, Fig. 7.

2.5 Bore Torque

In particular during steering motions the angular velocity of the wheel has a component n 6= 0 in
direction of the track normal which will cause a bore motion. If the wheel moves in longitudinal
and lateral direction too then, a very complicated deflection profile of the tread particles in the
contact patch will occur. However, by a simple approach the resulting bore torque (also named
turn torque) can be approximated quite well by the parameters of the generalised tyre force
characteristics.
At first, the complex shape of a tyres contact patch roughly described by its length L and
width B is approximated by a circle with the radius RP , Fig. 8.
At large bore motions all particles in the contact patch are sliding. Then, the maximum bore
torque is given by
2
(23)
TBmax = RP F S ,
3

2 Modeling Concept
ex
B

dr
F
r
L

ey

RP

circular
approximation

normal shape of contact patch

Figure 8: Bore torque approximation

where F S denotes the maximum sliding force and RB = 23 RP can be considered as the bore
radius of the contact patch.
For small slip values the force transmitted in the patch element can be approximated by
F dF 0 s, where s denotes the slip of the patch element, and dF 0 is the initial inclination of
the generalised tyre force characteristics. Similar to Eq. (16) one can define
s =

r n
rD ||

(24)

where r n describes the sliding velocity in the patch element and the term rD || represents the
average transport velocity of the tread particles. By setting r = RB we get the average bore slip
sB =

RB n
,
rD || + vN

(25)

where similar to (18) and (19) the artificial velocity vN 0 was added in the denominator
in order to avoid numerical problems at a locked wheel. Now, the bore torque can simply be
approximated by
TB = RB dF 0 sB .
(26)
Via the initial inclination dF 0 and the bore radius RB the bore torque TB automatically takes
the actual tyre properties into account. The bore torque is limited by its maximum value,
| TB | TBmax which is defined by (23).

2.6 Different Influences

2.6.1 Wheel Load
The resistance of a real tyre against deformations has the effect that with increasing wheel load
the distribution of pressure over the contact patch becomes more and more uneven. The tread
particles are deflected just as they are transported through the contact patch. The pressure
peak in the front of the contact patch cannot be used, for these tread particles are far away
from the adhesion limit because of their small deflection. In the rear of the contact patch the
pressure drop leads to a reduction of the maximally transmittable friction force. With rising
imperfection of the pressure distribution over the contact patch, the ability to transmit forces
of friction between tyre and road lessens. In practice, this leads to a digressive influence of the
wheel load on the characteristic curves of longitudinal and lateral forces.

2 Modeling Concept
In order to respect this fact in a tyre model, the characteristic data for two nominal wheel loads
and 2 FzN will be provided. From this data the initial inclinations dFx0 , dFy0 , the maximal
forces FxM , FyM and the sliding forces FxS , FyS for arbitrary wheel loads Fz are calculated by
quadratic functions. For the maximum longitudinal force it reads




Fz
1 M
1 M
M
N
N Fz
M
N
M
N
Fx (Fz ) = N 2 Fx (Fz ) 2 Fx (2Fz ) Fx (Fz ) 2 Fx (2Fz ) N .
(27)
Fz
Fz
FzN

M
S
S
The location of the maxima sM
x , sy , and the slip values, sx , sy , at which full sliding appears, are
defined as linear functions of the wheel load Fz . For the location of the maximum longitudinal
force this will result in


 F
z
M
M
N
M
N
M
N
sx (Fz ) = sx (Fz ) + sx (2Fz ) sx (Fz )
1 .
(28)
FzN

The self-aligning torque is modeled via the lateral force and the dynamic tyre offset. The
characteristic curve parameters describing the dynamic tyre offset will be provided for the single
and double pay load too. Similar to Eq. (28) the parameters for arbitrary wheel loads were
calculated by linear inter- or extrapolation.
2.6.2 Coefficient of Friction
The tyre characteristics are valid for one specific tyre road combination only. Hence, different
tyre road combinations will demand for different sets of model parameter. A reduced or changed
friction coefficient mainly influences the maximum force and the sliding force, whereas the initial
inclination will remain unchanged. So, by setting
sM

L M
L M
s , FM
F ,
0
0

sS

L S
L S
s , FS
F ,
0
0

(29)

the essential tyre model parameter which primarily depend on the friction coefficient 0 are
adjusted to the new or a local friction coefficient L .
If the road model will not only provide the unevenness information z = fR (x, y) but also
the local friction coefficient [z, L ] = fR (x, y) then, braking on -split maneuvers can easily be
simulated, [10].
2.6.3 Camber
At a cambered tyre, Fig. 9, the angular velocity of the wheel has a component normal to the
road
n = sin ,
(30)
where denotes the camber angle. Now, the tread particles in the contact patch have a lateral
velocity which depends on their momentary position. At the contact point it vanishes whereas
at the end of the contact patch it takes on the same value as at the beginning, however, pointing
into the opposite direction. Assuming that the tread particles stick to the track, a parabolic
deflection profile will be generated.
The lateral displacements of the tread particles caused by a cambered tyre are compared now
with the ones caused by pure lateral slip. For small lateral slips the equivalent camber slip is
given by
1
sy = s .
(31)
3

10

2 Modeling Concept

en
rim
centre
plane

eyR

rD ||

ex

v()
y()

ey

Figure 9: Velocity state of tread particles at cambered tyre

Then, the lateral camber force can be modeled by

dFy 

Fy =
s ,
(32)
sy sy =0 y
 
where Fy  F M limits the camber force to the maximum tyre force. By replacing the partial
derivative of the lateral tyre force at a vanishing lateral slip by the global derivative of the
generalised tyre force the camber force will be automatically reduced when approaching the
sliding area. By introducing a load dependent weighting factor in Eq. (32) the camber force can
be adjusted to measurements.

2.7 First Order Tyre Dynamics

Measurements [6] show that the dynamic reaction of the tyre forces and torques to disturbances
can be approximated quite well by first order systems.
rim

dx
Fx

cx

rim
dy

cy

tire

tire

xe vx - rD

Fy

ye

vy

Figure 10: Tyre deflection in longitudinal and lateral direction

The tyre forces Fx and Fy acting in the contact patch deflect the tyre in longitudinal and
lateral direction, Fig. 10. In a first order approximation the dynamic tyre forces in longitudinal
and lateral direction are given by
Fx
Fx (vx + x e ) Fx (vx ) +
x e
|
{z
}
| {z }
vx
FxD
FxS

and

11

Fy
Fy (vy + y e ) Fy (vy ) +
y e ,
vy
|
{z
}
| {z }
FyD
FyS

(33)

2 Modeling Concept
where xe and ye name the longitudinal and the lateral tyre deflection. In steady state the
longitudinal tyre forces FxS and FyS will be provided by Eqs. (20) and (21) as functions of the
N
normalised slips sN
x and sy . Their derivatives with respect to the components of the contact
point velocity are given by
FxS
FxS sN
FxS
1
x
=
=
N
N
vx
sx vx
sx rD ||
sx + vN

(34)

FyS
FyS sN
FyS
1
y
=
=
vy
sN
sN
sy + v N
y vy
y rD ||

(35)

where the definition of the normalised longitudinal slip in Eqs. (18) and (19) were used to generate
the derivatives of the slips with respect to the components of the contact point velocity. Corresponding to the first order approximations in Eq. (33) the partial derivatives of the steady state
tyre forces with respect to the normalised slips will be approximated by their global derivatives
FxS
FxS
f sN
x

=
= f
N
N
N
sx
sx
sx

and

FyS
FyS
f sN
y
N = N = f,
N
sy
sy
sy

(36)

Then, Eq. (33) will read as

FxD f sN
x + f

1
x e
rD ||
sx + vN

and FyD f sN
y + f

1
y e ,
rD ||
sy + vN

(37)

where according to Eqs. (20) and (21) the steady state tyre forces FxS and FyS were replaced by
N
the terms f sN
x and f sy . On the other hand, the dynamic tyre forces can be derived from
FxD = cx xe + dx x e

and FyD = cy ye + dy y e ,

(38)

where cx , cy and dx , dy denote stiffness and damping properties of the tyre in longitudinal and
lateral direction. Inserting the normalised longitudinal slips defined by Eqs. (18) and (19) into
the Eq. (37) and combining them with Eq. (38) yields two first order differential equations for
the longitudinal and lateral tyre deflection
(vT x dx + f ) x e = f (vx rD ) vT x cx xe ,


vT y dy + f y e = f vy vT y cy ye ,

(39)
(40)

where the modified transport velocities

vT x = rD || sx + vN

and vT y = rD || sy + vN

(41)

were introduced to shorten the equations.

This first order dynamic tyre force model is completely characterised by the generalised steady
state tyre characteristics f , and the stiffness cx , cy and damping dx , dy properties of the tyre. Via
the steady state tyre characteristics the dynamics of the tyre deflections and hence the dynamics
of the tyre forces automatically depends on the wheel load Fz and the longitudinal and lateral
slip. The differential equations (39) and (40) are even valid for locked wheels. But, at stand
still the tyre deflections and in consequence the tyre forces too will decay exponentially in time.
However, by a small modification [11] the differential equations can be transformed to a stick
slip model which means that now tyre forces which are needed to compensate downhill forces
are perfectly maintained as long as the wheel is not rotating.

12

2 Modeling Concept

2.8 Torque Dynamics

Following the calculation of the maximum bore torque the contact patch can be reduced to an
equivalent contact ring, Fig. 11. During bore motions the wheel rim rotates with the angle W
around an axis normal to the contact patch. The position of the contact ring relative to the
wheel is described by the twist angle .
F

contact ring

c
RB

d
wheel rim

W
RP

Figure 11: Simple bore torque model

The contact ring with a radius which is equal to the bore radius RB is attached to the rim
by a spring damper element with the torsional stiffness c and the torsional damping d The
dynamic bore torque is then given by
TBD = c + d .

(42)

Similar to Eqs. (39) and (40) this model approach results in a first order differential equation for
the tyre twist angle


2
2
dF0 RB
+ rD || d = dF0 RB
W rD || c .
(43)
At stand still ( = 0) the simple differential equation
= W

(44)

remains here which means that the torsional tyre deflection is increased or decreased as long
as steering motions W 6= 0 are performed. But, the differential equation (44) is only valid as
long as the resulting bore torque does not exceed the maximum value. To take this effect into
account at first the steady state torque is limited |c | TBmax . Then, adhesion is assumed
which is described by
2
dF0 RB
W + rD || TBst
.
(45)
A =
2
dF0 RB
+ rD || d
The resulting dynamic bore torque
TBD = c + d A
now allows to check for sliding which finally is done by

D
max

A if |TB | < TB
=
0 if |T D | T max
B
B

(46)

(47)

This model approach provides a continuous transition from stand still, rD || = 0, to normal
driving situations, rD || > 0, [9].

13

3 Interface to MBS Software

3 Interface to MBS Software

The implementation of TMeasy into a multi-body simulation system can easily be done via the
Standard Tyre Interface (STI, [12]). This interface (current version 1.4) is supported today by
most of the commercial simulation systems and allows the link of any STI-compatible tyre model,
as far as they represent per definition vehicle dynamic models with an idealised contact point,
cf. Fig. 12.

STI
Standard Tyre
Interface
Slip
Camber
Deflect.

P2

F, M

Wheel
motion
F, M

F, M ... Force, moment w.r.t. wheel carrier coordinates

F, M ... Force, moment w.r.t. wheel point coordinates

Model param.

USRMOD

P2
ROAD
TMroad

Tyre type 1

P1

TMeasy
x, y

Internal
standard
tyre model

Simulation
host

[Model param.]

[Tyre type 2] [optional]

z, (x, y)
P1
Road param.

Road type R

Figure 12: Implementation of TMeasy into a simulation program

The simulation program delivers the necessary wheel motion values in the sequence of wheels
Wi , i = 1, 2 ... nW at every time step to STI, which are here transformed into the internal motion
values of the applied tyre model and are passed to it. As output, STI delivers the actual vectors
of the tyre forces Fi and torques Mi in the specified form back to the simulation program. On
necessity, from there they can be passed on to the according post processor as well as additional
tyre variables for any control purpose.
The coefficients of the chosen tyre type(s) and the road parameters, e.g. road geometry and
friction distribution [z, L ] = fR (x, y) are provided via independent model data. There are two
different ways to forward the model parameters. One may prefer the direct import of the needed
data from the selcted tyre and road parameter files such as depicted as path P1 in Fig. 12.
The other way is to pass the set of parameters from the simulation hosts preprocessor via the
therefore reserved parameter arrays to the tyre model, marked as path P2.
A complete set of parameters for a vehicle model thus consists of at least one road file and
one tyre file for each group of identical vehicle tyres, therefore, at least of one tyre file. The
correct assignment of the tyre to its related model body wheel Wi is defined in the model file
and again this is directed by STI.

14

4 How to Apply TMeasy

4 How to Apply TMeasy

The following tasks have to be prepared before the application of TMeasy for any certain vehicle
dynamics simulation.
Definition of the tyre type for each of the wheels
Preparation of the parameter set for each tyre
Definition of the road type
Preparation of the road parameters for the selected road type

4.1 Identify the Parameters

First of all, a tyre property file is needed for TMeasy which contains its model parameters. With
measurement data from test rigs (Fx /sl, Fy /, . . . ) the parameters can be easily identified. As
the lateral force measurements usually correspond to the slip angle , the longitudinal force
characteristics are related to different slip definitions sl. This process is supported by the utility
TFView, which is implemented in Matlab [19]. TFView reads all available measurement data
and plots it together with the approximated curves of TMeasy in one plot for each category
like Fy /. The measurement data should be provided in matrix-form as ASCII-files, such as
standardised in the Tydex format [12].

Figure 13: User utility TFView

A typical plot can be seen in Fig. 14, where the circle symbols represent the measurement
data, and the lines depict the approximated curves for several vertical loads.
A single curve is determined by a set of five parameters as shown in Fig. 15. Because of
their physical meaning, these values can directly be obtained from measurement data. Applying
TFView, the correctness of the identified parameters can then be checked with respect to the
available measurement data set. The characteristic parameters for a lateral force graph are the
M
initial inclination (cornering stiffness) dFy0 , location sM
y and magnitude of the maximum Fy ,
G
begin of full sliding sG
y and the sliding force Fy .

15

4 How to Apply TMeasy

Lateral Tyre Force
Radial 205/50 R15, 6J, p=2.0 bar, v=60.0 km/h, cam=2.0 deg
6000

Lateral force Fy [N]

4000
2000
Fn=1800 N
Fn=3200 N
Fn=4600 N
Fn=6000 N
Approx 1
Approx 2
Approx 3
Approx 4

0
2000
4000
6000
20

15

10

10

15

20

Slip angle AL [deg]

TMeasy tyre model 4.3.07 + STI V1.4 Hirschberg, Rill, Weinfurter 14.02.2006
TFView 2.2 (c) 2002 W.Hirschberg
29Aug2007

Figure 14: Side force characteristics

Fy
FyMnom

adhesion

adhesion/
sliding

full sliding

FySnom

dFySnom

syS nom

syMnom

sy

Figure 15: Lateral force graph

These five parameters have to be identified for the nominal vertical load Fz nom and for the
doubled vertical load 2Fz nom to take the degressive behaviour of side force capability due to
increasing tyre load into account. Therefore, a set of ten parameters describe the whole side
force characteristics as shown in Fig. 14. This characteristic is plotted by selecting Fy / in
TFView as shown in Fig. 13. The identification of the parameters for the longitudinal forces Fx
is done in the same way.
The self aligning torque is calculated by the product of lateral force and pneumatic trail which
is described by three additional parameters: The normalised pneumatic trail ptr0 , ptrs as the
side slip value where the pneumatic trail changes the sign, and ptrz where the trail tends to zero.
Again those parameters have to be set for Fz nom and 2Fz nom .
The combined tyre force characteristics can be directly generated via the above shown generalised slip approach, which does not need any additional fitting parameters.

16

4 How to Apply TMeasy

4.2 User Roads

TMeasy offers some basic road models which can be linked via the STI Road
interface (current
3
version SRI 1.2). As an example, beside the standard even road, the road type track grooves
representing a pairRd_spr.dat
of water grooves with depth t is shown in Fig. 16. Optionally, other special
road types provided by the particular MBS application are available by direct MBS access.

zR
yR

C
z0

z
O
xR

0
y0
C
yR
y

x0
O

Ebene Fahrbahn mit 2 Spurrillen in beliebiger Richtung

Figure 16: Road type track grooves

4.3 Examples of Application

In the following, three selected SIMPACK [20] - TMeasy applications are shown.
Firstly, a single wheel test bench is considered. The test rig model is used to evaluate tyrecharacteristics in simulation environments. Multiple models are available to verify all tyre characteristics during only one simulation. With the post-processing tool, the simulation data can
be plotted together with the related measurement data.
Overturning a passenger car: This example shows an overturning vehicle on a tilting platform.
It demonstrates the possibility to handle high camber angles of the tyres. In the initial state,
the car has got a small yaw angle. Therefore, the non-braked car starts slightly rolling when
tilting the plate where it stands on. In the shown case, the passenger car overturns because the
vehicles COG is set to a height of 1.0 m above ground. In the more realistic case of COGz =0.5
m the vehicle is drifting downward after a short distance of rolling.
The driving manoeuvre lane change in a limit situation is a challenge for simulation solvers.
The tyre model has to handle large slip angles, high amounts of camber angles and the possibility
of loosing and re-contacting the ground whilst saving calculation time. The example shows a
MAN TGA 460 tractor-semitrailer combination with a gross vehicle weight of 40 tons. The lane

17

4 How to Apply TMeasy

zC

C
xC

yC
Z

Figure 17: Single wheel test bench

Figure 18: Overturning a car

change manoeuvre which is carried out within the range of 25 m at a speed of 80 km/h serves
to investigate driving stability and rollover prevention with ESP-function [14].

Figure 19: Lane change of a tractor-trailer combination

The real-time capability of TMeasy is one condition to support any related application. In
case of using constant step size integrators, the maximum step size is limited by the accuracy and
numerical stability which are immediately influenced by tyre stiffness and the mass distribution

18

4 How to Apply TMeasy

between tyre and chassis. Former investigations concerning real-time were published in [13].

19

References

References
[1] L. Herak. Verification of semiphysical model of tyre TMeasy (Adams Implementation).
Master thesis, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, 2008.
[2] W. Hirschberg, F. Palcak, G. Rill and J. Sotnik. Reliable vehicle dynamics simulation in spite
of uncertain input data. EAEC Conf. 2009 Europe in the Second Century of Auto Mobility,
Bratislava: (CD) 2009.
[3] W. Hirschberg, G. Rill and H. Weinfurter. User-appropriate tyre-modeling for vehicle dynamics in standard and limit situations. Vehicle System Dynamics, 38(2): 103125, 2002.
[4] W. Hirschberg, G. Rill and H. Weinfurter. Tire Model TMeasy. Vehicle System Dynamics,
Vol. 45, Supplement 1: 101119, 2007.
[5] W. Hirschberg, H. Weinfurter and C. Jung. Ermittlung der Potenziale zur LKWStabilisierung durch Fahrdynamiksimulation. VDI-Berichte 1559, D
usseldorf: 167188, 2000.
[6] P. van der Jagt. The Road to Virtual Vehicle Prototyping; new CAE-models for accelerated
vehicle dynamics development. ISBN 90-386-2552-9 NUGI 834, Tech. Univ. Eindhoven, 2000.
[7] P. Kintler. Validierung des Reifenmodells TMeasy mittels eines Vollfahrzeugmodells.
Master thesis, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, 2009.
[8] G. Rill. Simulation von Kraftfahrzeugen. Vieweg Verlag, ISBN 3-528-08931-8, Braunschweig/Wiesbaden, Deutschland, 1994.
[9] G. Rill. First order tire dynamics. In Proc. of the III European Conference on Computational
Mechanics Solids, Structures and Coupled Problems in Engineering, Lisbon, Portugal, 2006.
[10] G. Rill and C. Chucholowski. Modeling concepts for modern steering systems. In ECCOMAS
Multibody Dynamics, Madrid, Spain, 2005.
[11] G. Rill and C. Chucholowski. Real time simulation of large vehicle systems. In ECCOMAS
Multibody Dynamics, Milano, Italy, 2007.
[12] J.J.M. van Oosten et al. Tydex Workshop: Standardisation of Data Exchange in Tyre
Testing and Tyre Modelling. Proc. 2nd Int. Colloquium on Tyre Models for Vehicle Dynamic
Analysis, Swets&Zeitlinger, Lisse 1997.
[13] S. R. Waser. Applikation des Reifenmodells TMeasy f
ur den Tyre Model Performance Test
TMPT. Diploma thesis, Graz University of Technology, Austria, 2005.
[14] H. Weinfurter, W. Hirschberg and E. Hipp. Entwicklung einer Storgrossenkompensation f
ur
Nutzfahrzeuge mittels Steer-by-Wire durch Simulation. In VDI-Berichte 1846, D
usseldorf:
923941, 2004.
[15] http://www.mscsoftware.com/, dated Aug 27, 2010.
[16] http://www.dsd.at/, dated Aug 27, 2010.
[17] http://www.dspace.de/ww/de/gmb/home/products/sw/
automotive simulation models.cfm/, dated Aug 27, 2010.

20

References
[18] http://www.dynasim.com/documents/0709 dysm fly 04vehi cl lo.pdf/,
dated Sept 11, 2007.
[19] http://www.mathworks.com/, dated Aug 27, 2010.
[20] http://www.simpack.de/, dated Aug 27, 2010.
[21] http://www.tesis.de/, dated Aug 27, 2010.

21