2023 EMEA VI-GRADE ZERO PROTOTYPES SUMMIT

The virtual assessment of the handling performance of tires-vehicle system on driving simulator has become an essential requirement to reach the zero prototype goal in the tire development process. In the virtual world, more than the hard-handling, the simulation of soft-handling response, which is a key tire-design target, represents a challenge because of the low accelerations involved, and the complexity of modeling “on-center” behavior. For this purpose, Pirelli and Politecnico di Milano developed a methodology for evaluating the soft-handling response of a vehicle using a DIM 400 simulator. The methodology relies on a significant improvement of the motion strategy (positional cueing) and an accurate parametrization of the advanced steering model. This technique, enabled by the large working space of DIM 400, allows test drivers to perform the manoeuvres in 1:1 scale, therefore perceiving the same accelerations and angular speeds of outdoor tests.