thermoRIDE is a thermodynamic tire model able to provide real-time tire temperature distribution, with particular reference to the internal inaccessible layers, deeply correlated to friction phenomena. 

adheRIDE is an evolved version of Pacejka MF model, which considers interlinked multiphysical phenomena that are not considered by the standard formulation, such as thermodynamics effect on tires dynamic behavior. 

One of the most important factors for grip variability in motorsport is due to tires thermal state, thus starting the fast lap during the qualifying session with the tires already performing at the optimal thermal window is fundamental to get a competitive lap time and compete for the pole position. 

In this regard, the coupling of thermoRIDE and adheRIDE used in co-simulation brings a huge advantage, allowing to plan the best out lap, the preparatory lap before the flying one. This would not be possible without a thermal model, able to replicate in real-time environment tires temperature and pressure build, and an advanced tangential dynamic model, able to replicate the variation in dynamic behavior towards the whole thermodynamic evolution.

Thanks to this advanced simulation platform, engineers and driver can reliably simulate tire behavior in warm-up conditions, typical of the out lap, and plan driving line and style to be followed by the driver in order to end the lap with the tires working in the optimal thermal window without excessively consuming them. If the out lap is performed correctly, during the next lap the driver can thereby exploit tires maximum grip and push to the limit trying to complete the lap as fast as possible.

During the design phase of a vehicle and all its sub-components, the handling behavior is usually assessed by performing analysis on vehicle response during lateral maneuvers in steady-state conditions, such as constant radius cornering and slow steer ramp maneuvers. Before validating vehicle behavior performing these maneuvers during experimental test campaigns, it is of common use exploiting the potential of offline simulations and driving simulator sessions. The vehicle model used for development needs to be coupled to a tire model which should reproduce all physical phenomena involved in the interaction between tires and the surrounding environment: this is not the case with conventional tire models. The cornering stiffness is usually considered a constant regarding of the thermal conditions. This of course limits the capability of the simulation to check vehicle performance, safety and lateral stability in critical thermal conditions (very low or high outside temperature). In order to overcome this limit, additional tests (and thus additional costs) will be needed to test vehicle behavior in said conditions. 

The combination of thermoRIDE and adheRIDE modules expands vehicle simulations capabilities and can be exploited during vehicle and sub-systems development phase to check performance and safety in critical thermal conditions.

thermoRIDE is a thermodynamic tire model able to provide real-time tire temperature distribution, with particular reference to the internal inaccessible layers, deeply correlated to friction phenomena. 

adheRIDE is an evolved version of Pacejka MF model, which considers interlinked multiphysical phenomena that are not considered by the standard formulation, such as thermodynamics effect on tires dynamic behavior.

This multiphysical tire model is able to reproduce tires thermal behavior at different ambient conditions (also critical ones) and even provide tires internal layers temperatures in time, which are needed to replicate tires cornering stiffness at the current thermal conditions. In other words, it is possible to simulate exactly the tests usually performed only in a later phase to check vehicle performance and safety in critical thermal conditions, allowing to reduce time and costs of the development of the vehicle and all its sub-systems.

An example is represented by the possibility to combine thermoRIDE with a thermal model of the brakes. 

thermoRIDE is a thermodynamic tire model which evaluates the tires thermal state in time depending on tires working conditions, set by the coupling of driver request and the vehicle design, and on tires interaction with the external environment. 

With the addition of a brake thermal model, the interaction between brakes and tires can be studied. Different phenomena affect brakes performance, such as “blanking”, namely the increase in disc temperature due to reduced cooling airflow. This and other factors cause variations of brake disc temperature and consequently a different tire thermodynamic evolution, influencing even vehicle performance and safety. 

Properly adjusting the brake setup, for example brake blanking, can be essential to keep the tire working in the optimal thermal window, resulting in maximization of the performance, especially during motorsports events when every little improvement can make a big difference. 

An effective design of the brake system components which takes into account even the thermodynamic interaction with the tires can increase safety, especially in dangerous situations like emergency braking.

Generally speaking, since the tires are responsible for the generation of forces that allow vehicle handling, analyzing the interaction of each vehicle component with the tires during the design or setup tuning can bring a significant improvement in vehicle performance and/or safety.

RIDElab is a tool which allows to characterize tire multiphysics, analyzing dependencies on different phenomena (kinematics, dynamics, thermodynamics, wear, …) and identifying parameters for any kind of tire model.

RIDElab is compliant with any kind of data characterizing tire-road interaction. In particular, it accepts data acquired during:

• indoor tests, with flat track systems
• outdoor tests, with trailers or wheel force transducer systems

Vehicle dynamics simulation results can be also used, such as output of:

• complete vehicle dynamics modeling software (VI-CarRealTime, MSCAdams, …)
• vehicle models able to process acquired data during tests and to get tire-road interaction information (TRICK tool, …)

RIDEsuite simulation platform can be easily implemented in lots of third-party simulation software (VI-CarRealTime, Wintax, …), guaranteeing the correct reproduction of the vehicle behavior in hard-real time environments, without any need to rescale or rewrite the model as many other models do, with reference to computational burden.

Moreover, even Finite Elements Method (FEM) analyses and simulations results are compliant with RIDElab and RIDEsuite, allowing precise and punctual analysis on tire behavior and its dependency on different phenomena, which can be of interest for tire manufacturers and users.

weaRIDE is a wear tire model able to provide real-time tire compound thickness degradation depending on tire working conditions and its interaction with the external environment. 

With the employment of TRICK tool, outdoor tests can be used to get information on tire-road interaction, needed for the tire wear model to work, by using different vehicle setups or subsystems design, whose impact on wear is to be analyzed. weaRIDE can be then exploited to evaluate tire wear for each of these configurations, allowing to make considerations on the components used during the tests. 

An example is the possibility to test different suspension systems with a professional driver on a racing track and then studying their influence on tire wear through offline simulations with weaRIDE module or by doing the same during an initial design phase in simulator environments with the driver in the loop. 

The design of a suspension system highly affects tire wear and thus vehicle safety. A higher spring stiffness for example improves handling by reducing body roll but can lead to increased tire wear due to higher vertical load, especially on rough roads (e.g. SUSPENSION B in the image below). The damping coefficient can be even more important. A lower damping coefficient allows for a smoother ride by letting the suspension move more freely, but excessive oscillations can cause irregular tire wear due to inconsistent contact with the road. A higher damping coefficient on the other hand improves stability, reducing tire bouncing and ensuring even wear, but it might transmit more road shocks, increasing localized stress on the tread. Finally, a lower unsprung mass (lighter wheels and suspension components) allows to maintain better road contact, reducing excessive tire scrubbing.

All these effects are often not taken into account or considered in a final phase of vehicle testing. The weaRIDE module allows to study this influence in offline simulations and real-time environments, such as driving simulators, allowing to reduce suspension system development costs and time.