Tire Blowout Research Articles

Top-down cracking in Italian motorway pavements: A case study

Top-down cracking (TDC) is a distress affecting asphalt pavements and consists of longitudinal cracks that initiate on the pavement surface and propagate downwards. In general, TDC is more critical in the case of thick pavements with open-graded friction course (OGFC), which are the typical characteristics of Italian motorway pavements. Recent surveys showed the presence of many longitudinal cracks potentially ascribable to TDC on Italian motorways. Within this context, this study has two main objectives: 1) to define reliable identification criteria allowing to distinguish between TDC and the other types of longitudinal cracks observed and 2) based on the developed criteria, to quantify TDC in Italian motorway pavements. In this regard, a 200 km long trial network (400 km considering both directions) was studied, taking into account the effect of several variables (e.g. geometric characteristics, traffic level, wearing layer type and climate). For this purpose, images of the trial network acquired during pavement monitoring were visually analysed and some control cores were taken. Specific criteria (which can be used in a pavement management system, PMS) were developed to distinguish between the main types of longitudinal cracks observed on the trial network, i.e. TDC, cracks due to heavy vehicles tire blowout and construction joints, based on their geometric features on the pavement surface. It was found that TDC can affect up to 20–30 % of the slow traffic lane. Specifically, the highest TDC concentrations were observed for high traffic levels and OGFC, whereas TDC was absent in the case of a dense-graded wearing layer. Finally, surprisingly the concentration of tire blowout cracks was even higher than TDC. This study provides evidence on the fact that, for thick pavements with OGFC, TDC has to be considered a priority problem to be addressed in both pavement design and maintenance.

RBFNN based terminal sliding mode adaptive control for electric ground vehicles after tire blowout on expressway

This paper proposes a radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) based terminal sliding mode control scheme for electric ground vehicles subject to tire blowout on expressway in presence of tire nonlinearities, unmodeled dynamics and external disturbances. For enhancing the longitudinal and lateral stability of the vehicle after tire blowout, a saturated velocity planner is firstly constructed for tracking the original motion trajectory, by which the longitudinal velocity and yaw rate saturation constraints can be effectively handled. Afterwards, a terminal sliding mode controller (TSMC) is designed for tracking the planned velocity signals because of its inherent finite time convergence rate and superior steady-state property, by which the adverse dynamic behaviors can be timely suppressed. Further, to strengthen the adaptability and robustness of the control scheme, a RBFNN approximator is developed for identifying the lumped uncertainty, such as tire nonlinearities, unmodeled dynamics and external disturbances, etc., and then compensated into the controller. Lastly, simulations with front-right tire blowout on expressway are performed to validate the effectiveness and efficiency of presented control scheme and methods, and the comprehensive performance of TSMC+RBFNN and TSMC schemes in maintaining original trajectory tracking capacity is evaluated and discussed.

Enhanced Tire Blowout Modeling Using Vertical Load Redistribution and Self-Alignment Torque

Abstract Tire blowout impacts vehicle stability and creates challenges to vehicle control. To accurately evaluate the impact of tire blowout in different driving scenarios, a new tire blowout model is developed in this work with explicit considerations of the tire vertical load redistribution and self-alignment torque (SAT). A two-stage vertical force redistribution model is employed for the vertical load variations instead of the one-stage model in the literature. Moreover, the SAT is formulated, and the impact on the steering system is investigated. The developed tire blowout model is validated through both simulation and experiment using a scaled test vehicle. The results indicate that the proposed tire blowout model can evaluate the tire blowout impacts on vehicle dynamics more accurately, which will benefit the evaluation of tire blowout impact and the future development on model-based fault tolerant control.

Tire blow-out control for direct drive electric vehicles using reconfiguration of torque distribution and vertical load

This paper proposes a composite stability control strategy for tire blowout electric vehicle with explicit consideration of vertical load redistribution, subject to multi-constraints, uncertainty and redundant actuation. To readily implement system state and actuator increment constraints, a model predictive controller is designed to enhance vehicle stability performance and original lane keeping. Meanwhile, a sliding mode control-based longitudinal velocity controller is collaboratively proposed for maintaining the original longitudinal velocity after tire blowout in the freeway, which can reduce considerably the rear-end collision accidents. After that, a constrained weighting least square-based reconfigurable torque distributor is developed to realize the tracking of the virtual resultant yaw-moment and longitudinal tire force signals generated by the above controllers, considering system physical constraints and actuator capability simultaneously. Simulations with different tire blowout scenarios are conducted on the developed dynamic simulation platform to demonstrate the effectiveness of the designed control methods; furthermore, the influence of different tire blowout on the vehicle movement behaviors is discussed. Statistical results based on the system transient performance and control effort evaluating indictors highlight the considerable superiority of the developed model predictive controller compared with the linear quadratic regulator.

Influence of tire blowout on the collision of a light pickup truck with a guardrail safety barrier

This main purpose of this work is to investigate, through a finite-element simulation, the effect of tire blowout on the collision of a light pickup truck with a guardrail, at a speed of 100 km/h. The finite-element model was calibrated against a dynamic test carried out by the Texas Transportation Institute. Four cases of individual tire blowout were considered. Among these, the case of the left front tire was found to be the most critical one, resulting in a pitch angle of 24°, a roll angle of 12°, and a yaw angle of 30°. For this critical case, the results showed that the deflated tire trapped in the guardrail, which created more interaction between the vehicle and the guardrail beam. These challenging crash conditions were found to be more crucial for the stability of the pickup compared with the fully inflated tire scenario.

Active rectifying control of vehicle with tire blowout based on adaptive fuzzy proportional–integral–derivative control

To avoid casualties and economic loss caused by vehicle yawing motion during the tire blowout, first, by changing several key parameters of the characteristics, this article uses CarSim software and MATLAB/Simulink to establish a vehicle model of tire blowout based on the UniTire model. This model is implemented to simulate tire blowout caused by the change of the vehicle motion state. Second, considering the driver error and radical-operated steering wheel after tire blowout leads to runaway car problems. This article takes the target trajectory and actual trajectory of error and error rate as the system input; an adaptive fuzzy proportional–integral–derivative controller is designed to determine the vehicle steering wheel angle during the tire blowout and replace the driver to control the direction of the vehicle. The results indicate that the designed controller is capable of ensuring the vehicle constancy and keeping the vehicle on the original track.

RMPC-Based Directional Stability Control for Electric Vehicles Subject to Tire Blowout on Curved Expressway

This paper presents a directional stability control based on robust tube-based model predictive control (RMPC) approach for an overactuated electric vehicle after tire blowout on curved expressway, in the presence of the exogenous disturbances, such as cross wind and road variation. To begin with, the vehicle dynamic simulation platform allowing for the tire vertical force redistribution after tire blowout is presented, and the reliability of the platform is further analyzed by comparing with the existing experimental test results. After that, a RMPC-based controller is designed to enhance the directional stability performance of the vehicle on curved expressway after tire burst. Also, a pseudo inverse switch control allocator is developed to realize the allocation of the desired resultant signal for the remained effective wheels at the last stage. In the end, the simulation results conducting on the depicted simulation platform demonstrate the favorable maneuverability of the proposed method over the conventional model predictive control (MPC) in enhancing directional stability performance of the vehicle after a tire blowout on curved expressway.

Finite-time stability control of an electric vehicle under tyre blowout

In this paper, the authors consider the problem of tyre blowout control via output feedback for an electric vehicle (EV) driven by four in-wheel motors to reduce fatal damage. First, an EV dynamic model in the case of a tyre blowout is established. The model considers the unmeasurable state, unknown added front wheel steering angle generated by a tyre blowout and uncertain external disturbances. Second, to address the difficulties in estimating the unmeasurable state, unknown parameters and disturbances for the EV, a finite-time observer is introduced. Then, by introducing a coordinate transformation, the state-space model of an EV with tyre blowout is converted into a simple form for which a state feedback control law is constructed by adding a power integrator method. Combining the finite-time observer with the finite-time control law, an output feedback controller is designed to stabilize the EV when a tyre bursts. A torque allocation method is also given to operate every wheel except the burst tyre to stabilize and stop the EV. Finally, computer simulations are given to validate the proposed finite-time output feedback controller for the EV tyre blowout control.

Predictive safety control for road vehicles after a tire blowout

Predictive safety control for road vehicles after a tire blowout

Preventing Tire Blowout Accidents: A Perspective on Factors Affecting Drivers’ Intention to Adopt Tire Pressure Monitoring System

The aim of this study is to explore whether risk perception or anticipated regret is responsible for intensifying the participants’ intention to adopt a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) to prevent a tire-related accident, and whether the optimism bias has a moderator effect between risk perception/anticipated regret and intention. With 274 valid questionnaires and PLS-SEM (partial least squares structural equation modeling) analysis, the results indicate a significant positive relationship between risk perception and intention to adopt TPMS, but not between anticipated regret and intention. The moderator effect of optimism bias on risk perception and anticipated regret is not found in the model. The findings will prove useful for public service advertising campaigns by providing a basis for an understanding of the role of cognitive and emotional factors in tire-blowout accident prevention, thereby increasing the motivation for drivers in Taiwan to take advantage of the protection afforded them by using TPMS.

Gain-scheduling robust control for a tire-blow-out road vehicle

This paper presents a robust control approach to keeping directional and driving stability for a road vehicle after a tire blow-out. Considering the time-varying vehicle velocity as well as the uncertain tire characteristics, a linear parameter varying vehicle model is built. With front wheel steering angle and yaw control moment as control inputs, a gain-scheduling H∞ controller is developed to attenuate the effects of a flat tire. An optimal control allocation law is presented to perform the yaw control moment by differential braking on the other three tires. Finally, a hardware-in-the-loop testing system, composed of the veDYNA high-fidelity software program and an actual automotive hydraulic braking system, is utilized for controller validation. The results clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed coordinated controller in improving vehicle directional stability and robustness against the disturbances caused by a tire blow-out.

Safety Assessment of Protection Cover under the Blast Pressure of Aircraft Tire Blowout

AbstractThe protection cover is an important equipment installed in the main landing gear cabin to protect the hydraulic lines and equipment. To assess the safety of the protection cover, the autho...

Pull-out analysis of laser modified polyamide tire cords through rubber matrix

Abstract Today with regard to the increased tire failure accidents, strengthening the tire cord adhesion to rubber compounds to reduce the tire blow-out risks is being of great importance. The main aim of this research is strengthening the adhesion of tire cord to the plastic/rubber matrix by the use of laser treatment method to achieve a high performance material. In this study, the polyamide (known as nylon 66) tire cord was prepared and the surface treatment was performed by CO2 laser, prior to Resorcinol formaldehyde latex (RFL) dipping. To obtain the ideal irradiation condition, surface roughness was evaluated by image analysis using both Fractalyse2.4 and Mountainsmap7 Software. The cord parameters such as count, twist, strength and toughness and also H-Test, FTIR and XRD analysis were tested before and after laser treatment. The results showed that cord count, twist and strength did not have any significant changes. However, the other parameters such as cord elongation, shrinkage and toughness were changed so that enhanced adhesion properties. FTIR and XRD analysis revealed that the crystalline structure of irradiated cords has been decreased. The results showed that laser treatment increases the interfacial shear strength of rubber/fiber without reducing strength of cords. Finally, a mechanical model of failure based on pull-out method was used to investigate the effect of laser treatment on the adhesion strength of cord/rubber. Thus, an index of laser intensity was introduced which would be capable of predicting the influence of any laser treatments on interfacial shear strength between cords and rubber.

An Experimental Investigation of Pressure Distribution in the Flow Field of Aircraft Radial Tire Blowout

AbstractThe results of an experimental and analytical study on aircraft radial tire blowout are presented in this paper. A new experimental method was introduced to study the flow field of tire blo...

A new test study on measurement of bias aircraft tire blowout

Failure of aircraft tires is a common cause for aviation accidents, whose results range from abnormal taking-off and landing process to fatal air crashes. Those consequences should not be neglected; hence, an authentication of airworthiness is necessary for the development of new aircrafts. Failure of aircraft tires can be caused by numerous factors and can be categorized into various modes. The related tests are of great significance for newly developed aircrafts to pass the authentication system. However, failures of aircraft tires can be unexpected, drastic, and extremely dangerous, which adds to the difficulties in tests. Besides, the test methods used currently contain insurmountable defects. In this article, a new test apparatus is developed to research the blowout of bias aircraft tires, which is in accordance with the Joint Aviation Authorities standard, and a test scheme is designed. With the jet flow field formed by the test apparatus and the comparison between simulation results and test data, the reliability of the test apparatus is proved. Ergo, a new test method for the airworthiness authentication of tire failures has been developed.

A novel integrated approach for path following and directional stability control of road vehicles after a tire blow-out

The path following and directional stability are two crucial problems when a road vehicle experiences a tire blow-out or sudden tire failure. Considering the requirement of rapid road vehicle motion control during a tire blow-out, this article proposes a novel linearized decoupling control procedure with three design steps for a class of second order multi-input-multi-output non-affine system. The evaluating indicators for controller performance are presented and a performance related control parameter distribution map is obtained based on the stochastic algorithm which is an innovation for non-blind parameter adjustment in engineering implementation. The analysis on the robustness of the proposed integrated controller is also performed. The simulation studies for a range of driving conditions are conducted, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

Modelling the tyre forces for a simulation analysis of a vehicle accident reconstruction

This paper proposes a modified bilinear tyre force model for simulations of the vehicle dynamics, which is the core part in reconstruction analysis of vehicle collision accidents. The physical parameters involved were estimated using a statistical method based on experimental test results of the tyre forces. With an appropriate setting of the input data related to a tyre blowout, a simulation analysis of the dynamics of the vehicle which had suffered the tyre blowout was performed. The developed simulation analysis results for the dynamic behaviour of a vehicle with normal tyres with total locks or with a one-wheel lock and for vehicles with tyre blowouts when driving straight or turning corresponded well to the results of other commercial programs. The reliability of these results was proved by comparing them with the corresponding data for many vehicles involved in blowout-related accidents and in particular the path travelled by those vehicles as recorded on black-box footages.

Nonlinear Coordinated Motion Control of Road Vehicles After a Tire Blowout

For the path-following and safety problem of road vehicles after a tire blowout, a nonlinear coordinated motion controller is proposed in the framework of the triple-step method that potentially benefits the engineering-oriented implementation. A control optimization strategy for coordinating both steering and braking is developed to enhance the control performance and deal with the constraints. Since only the primary impacts of the flat tire are taken into account in the vehicle dynamics model used for controller design, an improved robust design procedure is proposed in the framework of input-to-state stability theory to counteract the model uncertainties. The proposed coordinated controller is evaluated together with steering-alone controller and braking-alone controller, and the comparative results for different tire blow-out scenarios are analyzed. The results and analyses clearly show the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed approach.

Modeling and Simulation of Vehicle Responses to Tire Blowout

ABSTRACT The finite element (FE) model of a tire to simulate tire blowout is developed, the effectiveness of which is validated by the tire blowout test. Then, a simplified FE model of a vehicle that integrates the tire model is established. The vehicle responses to tire blowout are analyzed under the situation of no steering and braking behavior on the vehicle. Finally, some meaningful results, such as the trajectory, yaw velocity of the vehicle, and the forces acting on the tires, are obtained. This study provides the foundation to further investigate the handling stability and control strategy of a vehicle when a tire blowout occurs during normal vehicle operation.

Constrained [formula omitted] control for road vehicles after a tire blow-out

Sudden tire blow-out of a road vehicle is a hazardous situation and frequently cited as the cause of a crash and fatality on the highway. As the uncertainties/disturbances caused by a tire blow-out are difficult to be measured or estimated, this study proposes a novel constrained H∞ coordinated control approach for the path-following and driving stability problem of the road vehicles after a tire blow-out. Simulation results and analyses for a variety of driving scenarios are conducted, based on a co-simulation between the proposed vehicle controller and vehicle dynamics simulation platform veDYNA. The dynamic analyses clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed coordinated controller in improving vehicle stability, as well as the robustness of the controller against the uncertainties/disturbances caused by a tire blow-out.