In preparation for the upcoming season of the DTM championship, Audi Sport is integrating a new tire behavior optimization software into its vehicle dynamics simulations.
The software is being provided by MegaRide, an Italian startup that supplies software based on physical tire models developed at the University of Naples Federico II. Two models within the package – adheRIDE and thermoRIDE – received recognition at the 2018 Tire Technology International Awards, winning the Tire Technology of the Year category.
ThermoRIDE is a physical-analytical thermal model designed to predict, in real time, the temperature of the different tire layers based on telemetry data processing techniques. The model is able to provide local temperature distribution, with reference to the deep layers usually unreachable by measurement instruments.
The adheRIDE part is a physical-analytical tire grip model that calculates the power dissipated in a polymeric material indented by road asperities, taking into account the adhesive/hysteretic effects, tread wear phenomena, road roughness and the grip-temperature relationship.
Alberto Zumbo, coordinator for vehicle dynamics at Audi Sport stated, “We are looking forward to integrating our vehicle performance activities and vehicle simulation tools with the new tire model, with the main aim of exploring its potential in allowing our vehicle performance team to get much stronger insight and understanding of the optimal thermal range at which the tire compounds need to work. This will further improve our capability to get much more out of the vehicle setup as function of asphalt and ambient conditions.”
