Tyre Testing and Modelling: Accelerating the Future of Automotive Innovation

An Introduction to the Role of the Tyre and Modelling its Performance in a Vehicle Design Environment - Mike Blundell, Coventry University

The automotive tyre is possibly the most underappreciated of engineering products when it comes to assessing the performance of a modern vehicle. Despite the complexities of emerging vehicle technologies, the way in which a car can safely drive, stop and manoeuvre still comes down to the forces and moments generated across four relatively small tyre contact patches. Millions of people trust their lives and their goods to them every day and they provide a critical element in the performance of not only cars, but also trucks, motorcycles, aeroplanes, and other vehicles.

This presentation covers the role of the tyre in the context of vehicle dynamics and the challenges associated with modelling its behaviour in the simulation of new vehicle designs. Before considering the methods used to test and model tyres, an introduction to the theory associated with tyre friction, together with the force and moment generating mechanisms in the tyre contact patch is given.

The different ways in which a tyre can be tested to understand its behaviour and to generate tyre model parameters is presented, leading on to the various mathematical models used for ride, handling and durability simulations.

The presentation continues by considering other applications such as aircraft tyres, and specialist applications such as Road-Rail Vehicles. The final part looks at some future trends and challenges including those associated with loss of control during aquaplaning.

Tyre testing: past, present and future - Alex O'Neill, GCAPS

As the automotive industry accelerates its virtual development, tyre models have never been more important. But how do you test a tyre, and go on to create a model of it? How can you trust your data and final model? How can we push the boundaries of tyre testing to close the gap between simulation and track-based data? In this presentation, all these questions will be discussed, plus:

1. How we test and measure tyres and judge their performance
2. Why testing protocols significantly affect the result
3. Where the industry is heading
4. What the future holds in terms of tyre testing and simulation

Tyre development in JLR - Jan Prins & George Walker, Jaguar Land Rover
An overview of the use of tyre modelling in JLR. The presentation will outline how JLR has developed its tyre testing and modelling capabilities, and how these are used in the development of its vehicles.

Accelerating tyre development with MIRA’s Dynamic Simulator  - Stratos Stratoudakis, HORIBA MIRA
This presentation shows how MIRA’s dynamic driver-in-the-loop simulator in combination with MIRA's Virtual Proving Ground -a digital twin of real-world conditions- helps us fast-track virtual tyre testing and selection. We’ll walk through our vehicle modelling process, drawn from K&C rig data, show how these methods speed up development, and optimise vehicle dynamics.

Tyre-Road friction: The holy grail in tyre modelling? - Georgios Mavros, Loughborough University
Mathematical tyre modelling and simulation have advanced significantly in the past three decades with real-time high-fidelity tyre models for ride, handling and NVH routinely used in vehicle simulations. However, the behaviour of tyres at large slips, mostly dominated by friction, is still difficult to predict. The presentation discusses the mechanics of road-rubber friction with focus on its dependency on temperature and road roughness. Several modelling approaches are presented, as well as insights from experimental testing, highlighting both advances and challenges in predicting and measuring friction.

Tyre particulate emissions: future research challenges - James Knowles, Loughborough University
Tyres are becoming a leading source of particulate matter emissions from modern vehicles, with a growing body of literature devoted to experimental measurements that quantify the scale of emissions from specific tyres operated under a range of conditions. The complexities of tyre physics mean comparing results between different test setups is challenging, making it difficult to draw useful generalisable findings from existing literature. This talk outlines some key challenges associated with predicting tyre emissions using virtual methods, and explains the need for future tyre emissions research to adopt a more interdisciplinary approach than is evidenced in current literature. 

Motorsport  Applications of Rubber Friction Theory - Vasilis Tsinias, BWT Alpine F1 Team
In racing, tyre friction is often quoted as a significant performance differentiator but also a significant source of uncertainty. A large contributor to said uncertainty is the variability of tyre friction across different track/compound combinations or even across different sessions on the same track and on the same compound. This presentation will attempt to cover why rubber friction is important in motorsport, what is the latest in rubber friction theory, and how this is applicable in racing.

Mike Blundell

Mike Blundell is well known for his work in vehicle dynamics, tyre modelling and the use of multi-body systems (MBS) software. Prior to joining Coventry University in 1991 he worked for Boeing (Europe) and was also an early user of the ADAMS MBS software while working for Tedas, the original distributers of the ADAMS software in Europe. After joining Coventry University, he led their teaching and research in the vehicle dynamics area with a particular focus on tyre modeling and the efficient use of MBS software.

Major projects have included a collaborative EPSRC/Airbus project looking into aircraft tyre modelling and a European 6^th Framework project considering occupant safety in Helicopter crashes. Work has also involved the Niche Vehicle Project, the Low Carbon Vehicle Technology Project and an EPSRC project looking at lightweight vehicle structures.

He is co-author of the Textbook “ The Multibody Systems Approach to Vehicle Dynamics”, has supervised over 30 PhD students to completion, and has also collaborated with Jaguar Land Rover in developing a bespoke course around tyre modelling and tyre test procedures.

He is also the inventor of the patented Run Dry Tyre System (RDTS), an active safety system designed to enhance tyre performance when driving in the wet and to avoid aquaplaning.
60 Second Spotlight on Mike Blundell

James Knowles

Dr Knowles is a senior lecturer in the department of aeronautical and automotive engineering at Loughborough University, with research interests in the modelling and analysis of non-linear dynamic systems. Part of this research to date has involved the modelling and prediction of rubber friction on real road surfaces at high sliding speeds for motorsport applications. Dr Knowles is currently on a research fellowship to develop interdisciplinary research that aims to predict and minimize the environmental and health impact of tyre particulate emissions, which are driven by road surface friction.
60 Second Spotlight on James Knowles

Georgios Mavros
George Mavros is a Professor of Intelligent Mobility and Vehicle Dynamics at the Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering Department at Loughborough University, where he has also served as Head of Department. George has led numerous research projects funded by UK research councils and the industry and has worked as technical manager for Simpack UK/Dassault Systemes. His research interests include physical and data-based tyre modelling, tyre testing and their application in vehicle dynamics.
60 Second Spotlight on Georgios Mavros

Jan Prins

Jan Prins is Technical Group Leader for Wheels and Tyres CAE) at Jaguar Land Rover, in the Product Development Chassis Department. Originally a Vehicle Dynamics graduate from Delft University (Netherlands), he joined JLR in 1990 and was appointed in his latest role early in 2013. In that role he's working to raise the profile of tyre modelling and to define and execute a strategic approach to meeting Jaguar Land Rover's requirements for tyre modelling, which plays an important role in virtual vehicle development capability.
60 Second Spotlight on Jan Prins

Vasilis Tinias

2010 – Graduated from the National Technical University of Athens with a diploma in Mechanical Engineering
2014 – Graduated from Loughborough University with a PhD in tyre modelling
2013 to 2016 – Consulting Engineer at SIMPACK UK
2016 to 2018 – Senior Tyre Performance Engineer at BWT Alpine F1 Team
2018 to Present – Tyre Performance Section Leader at BWT Alpine F1 Team
60 Second Spotlight on Vasilis Tsinias

Stratos Stratoudakis

Stratos is a Consultant Engineer for multi-body simulation at HORIBA MIRA’s Vehicle Attributes & Performance Department. He graduated with an MSc in Vehicle Dynamics from Coventry University in 2012, then joined MSC Software as a Technical Consultant. In 2015, he became part of HORIBA MIRA, taking his current role in 2018. His work focuses on virtual chassis development in the areas of dynamics, durability, and NVH for offline and on driver-in-the-loop simulators.
60 Second Spotlight on Stratos Stratoudakis

George Walker

Graduating with a master’s in mechanical engineering from Heriot-Watt University in 2019. George was a part of the Formula Student team HWRacing, as a member of the suspension team designing the knuckles for two years and as team captain in his final year. Towards the end of the JLR graduate scheme, in summer '21, George joined the Tyre CAE team working as a lead on the Vehicle Based Objective Tyre Test (VBOTT) rig. More recently he's worked to broaden the test surfaces that VBOTT can test on, as well as extensively improve the data processing toolset that the department uses to produce tyre models.

Alex O'Neill
Dr Alex O'Neill completed a master's degree in astrophysics before taking on a PhD in engineering. That PhD was sponsored by Jaguar Land Rover and involved developing a methodology to translate tyre forces from sandpaper to asphalt. The work was well received, winning multiple awards including TireTech's Young Scientist of the Year. Alex then joined Siemens as the Product Manager for the Siemens Simcenter Tire portfolio, overseeing the development of the MF-Tool and MF-Tyre/MF-Swift products. Since August 2024, Alex has worked for GCAPS as the Product and Technical Solutions manager, where he both oversees the product development of GCAPS’s software portfolio and works with customers to find technical solutions for their tyre and vehicle simulation needs. This includes novel work on an asphalt-like surface and indoor wet testing.