2022 VI-GRADE ZERO PROTOTYPES SUMMIT

In the recent years virtual development has become an integral part of the vehicle/tire development process in the automotive industry. Traditionally, in the standard development process, the use of simulation tools is already widely applied (e.g., FEM analysis, MBD simulations). However, with a stronger focus on reducing the number of physical prototypes, it becomes more important to be able to assess those virtual prototypes and receive subjective driver feedback. Driving Simulator Technology is enabling this link between virtual prototyping and testing virtual prototypes in various driving scenarios. Goodyear is committed to digitize its tire development process by introducing Driving Simulator Technology globally, offering a new path towards collaborative tire development with its customers. Goodyear acquired the first dynamic driving simulator end of 2019 and the installation in the Innovation Center in Akron, Ohio was completed by the end of 2020. In this paper, an overview is presented how the VI-Grade DIM250 driving simulator is used for subjective handling assessment, which is part of integrating the Driving Simulator in our virtual tire development process. Tire and vehicle modeling aspects for simulator application are discussed, and an overview is presented of the comparison of results between tests performed on the simulator and in the real-world. More insights are presented in the accuracy of tire and vehicle model correlation with actual measurements and the utilization of physical based tire models for subjective handling assessment. The results of this study show that using Driving Simulator Technology for virtual assessment of the tire performance provides promising results and shows the potential towards application for virtual tire assessment.