• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.157-164
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• 2000

It is known that residual aligning torque of tires causes vehicle pull. There is, however, only a little literature available which shows how the residual aligning torque of tires causes vehicle pull. In this paper, a vehicle model in two degrees of freedom was adopted for the analysis of a vehicle under the straight-ahead motion. The analysis with this vehicle model clearly shows the effect of residual aligning torque of tires on vehicle pull. In order to show the validity of the analysis, a vehicle commercially available was selected. This vehicle was modeled in 137 degrees of freedom system with multibody dynamics software. Vehicle pull simulation results show that vehicle model drifts in lateral direction due to the residual aligning torque of tires. Vehicle test results with the car were also included.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.173-180
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• 2004

The tread pattern of a tire has an important effect on tire performances such as handling, wear, noise, hydroplaning and so on. However, a finite element analysis of a patterned tire with detailed tread blocks has been limited owing to the complexity of making meshes for tread blocks and the huge computation time. The computation time has been shortened due to the advance in the computer technology. The modeling of tread blocks usually requires creating a solid model using a CAD software. Therefore it is a very complicated and time-consuming job to generate meshes of a patterned tire using a CAD model. A new efficient and convenient method for generating meshes of a patterned tire has been developed. In this method, 3-D meshes of tread pattern are created by mapping 2-D meshes of tread geometry onto 3-D tread surfaces and extruding them through tread depth. Then, the tread pattern meshes are assembled with the tire body meshes by the tie contact constraint. Residual aligning torque and frictional energy are calculated by using a patterned tire model and compared to the experimental results. It is shown that the calculated results of a patterned tire model are in a good agreement with the experimental ones.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.15-21
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• 2008

It is generally known that the PRAT(Plysteer Residual Aligning Torque) is one of indicating a performance factors of a tire for assessing the vehicle pull, also tire pattern shape, which means lateral groove angle, is very important tire design factor in relation to the PRAT. Lateral grooves of tire pattern are widely divided into center and shoulder parts. So, this paper has studied the correlation between the PRAT and their lateral groove angles using FEM. Especially, the steady state rolling analysis among tire rolling analysis methods has been used for the PRAT performance study. Firstly, analysis result data have been compared with the experimental data to validate FE analysis for PRAT. Next, the PRAT due to the lateral groove angle about PCR(Passenger Car Radial) tire and SUV tire has been analyzed. The tendency of the PRAT due to the lateral groove angles can be used as a guide line for the tire design in relation to vehicle pull.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.1371-1375
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• 2005

The paper has analyzed the influence of tire design variable on the tire Force and Moment (F&M) characteristics, especially by the belt angle, the Plysteer Residual Aligning Torque (PRAT) which is considered as one of the causing factors for the vehicle pull. To validate the tire FE model, the tire stiffness and the PRAT which can be derived from the simulation data have been compared with the experimental data of test machine. In addition to PRAT characteristic, the tire stiffness and cornering characteristics due to the belt angle have been investigated. The effects of drum's curvature on the PRAT have been also investigated using the tire FE model and the usefulness of the current drum type F&M test machine can be confirmed.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.23 no.2 s.179
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• pp.104-112
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• 2006

The influence of tire belt angle on the Plysteer Residual Aligning Torque(PRAT) and the cornering stiffness by the FEM has been studied. The PRAT is a performance factor of the tire about vehicle pull, and the cornering stiffness has relation to vehicle steering response of outdoor test. To validate FE model for analysis, simulation data for both the static stiffness(vertical, lateral) and the PRAT have been compared with the experimental data. In addition to the characteristics of the PRAT and the cornering stiffness due to the tire belt angle, rolling and cornering contact characteristics have been studied. The tendency of the PRAT and the cornering stiffness due to the belt angle can be used as a guide line for the tire design in relation to vehicle pull and vehicle steering response.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.194-201
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• 2000

It is called vehicle pull when a vehicle drifts in the lateral direction under the straight-ahead motion with no steering or external input. Recently vehicle pull draws attention as one of the critical evaluation items from the customers on the vehicle quality. It is generally recognized that the vehicle pull is complex phenomena due to internal and external factors. In this paper the relations between vehicle pull and ire were investigated through close survey on the road test results from the final inspection of car manufactures. Through this investigation the factors are identified which play an important role in causing vehicle pull problem.

• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.183-190
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• 2005

During normal operating conditions, a motor vehicle is constantly subjected to a variety of forces, which can adversely affect its straight-ahead motion performance. These forces can originate both from external sources such as wind and road and from on-board sources such as tires, suspension, and chassis configuration. One of the effects of these disturbances is the phenomenon of vehicle lateral-drift during straight-ahead motion. This paper examines the effects of road crown, tires, and suspension on vehicle straight-ahead motion. The results of experimental studies into the effects of these on-board and external disturbances are extremely sensitive to small changes in test conditions and are therefore difficult to guarantee repeatability. This study was therefore conducted by means of computer simulation using a full vehicle model. The purpose of this paper is to gain further understanding of the straight-ahead maneuver from simulation results, some aspects of which may not be obtainable from experimental study. This paper also aims to clarify some of the disputable arguments on the theories of vehicle straight-ahead motion found in the literature. Tire residual aligning torque, road crown angle, scrub radius and caster angle in suspension geometry, were selected as the study variables. The effects of these variables on straight-ahead motion were evaluated from the straight-ahead motion simulation results during a 100m run in free control mode. Examination of vehicle behavior during straight-ahead motion under a fixed control mode was also carried out in order to evaluate the validity of several disputable arguments on vehicle pull theory, found in the literature. Finally, qualitative comparisons between the simulation results and the test results were made to support the validity of the simulation results.