Dimensionless analysis of tire characteristics for vehicle dynamics studies

This paper demonstrates the use of dimensional analysis for scaled vehicle tires. The motivation for this approach is the understanding of realistic nonlinear tire behavior in scaled vehicle control studies. By examining the behavior of vehicle tires within a dimensionless framework, several key tire parameters are developed that allow for an appropriate relationship between full-sized tires and scaled tires. Introducing these scalings into vehicle dynamics studies allows for the development of scaled vehicles that have a high degree of dynamic similitude with full-sized vehicles but are safer and more economical testbeds on which to develop experimental control strategies. Experimental data is used to compare the nonlinear characteristics for sets of scaled and full-sized tires.