Zuzana Nedelkova

Modelling of optimal tyres selection for a certain truck and transport application

The main aim of the research leading to this paper is to select---for a truck and its transport application---a configuration of the tyres such that the energy losses caused by these are minimized. We show that neither the rolling resistance coefficient (RRC) classes provided by tyre suppliers nor any other nominal values of RRC evaluated for specific operating conditions are sufficient to do the tyres selection. Therefore, a surrogate model of the RRC is developed. A tyre model based on the RRC model is introduced in this paper. The modularity of the tyre model is demonstrated by coupling it with two different vehicle models and an~operating environment model. The usage of the joint vehicle, tyres, and operating environment model is demonstrated by solving a few illustrative instances of the tyres selection problem. The potential savings wrt. energy losses when the selected tyre configurations are used are presented.

Design and development of a road profile generator

This work aims to develop a method of generating a random road profile in three-dimensional space based on existing road design and classification standards and parameters, such examples being the Volvo Global Transport Application (GTA) and the International Organization of Standards (ISO). This is done by combining probability models, statistical distributions and mathematical methods of defining road curves, elevation and surface roughness through the use of MATLAB code. The proposed road profile generator code creates a road in three-dimensional space independent of vehicle characteristics and behaviour. The ultimate goal of this work is to contribute to the capabilities of modern virtual vehicle simulation systems by incorporating more random environments with respect to a wide range of established national standards to better simulate real driving loads.