H. J. YH1 a n d H.

A b o u t o r a b i 1

Dynamics of Tire, Wheel, and Suspension

Assembly z

REFERENCE: Yu, H. J. and Aboutorabi, H., "Dynamics of Tire, Wheel, and Suspension
Assembly," Tire Science and Technology, TSTCA, Vol. 29, No. 2, April-June 2001, pp.
66-78.

ABSTRACT: A combined tire, wheel, and suspension FE model is described. The system
simulates the tire mounted on the vehicle. The natural frequencies are calculated successfully
for this highly non-linear system where the tire is in the inflated and loaded condition. The
random vibration response of the model to the road roughness is calculated.

KEY WORDS: tire, real, suspension

Tire dynamics research is necessary to enhance the ride and to reduce the
noise. A realistic dynamics model consists of a tire, wheel, and suspension
assembly where the tire is inflated and loaded. The tire alone does not constitute
a dynamic system. Compared to the assembly, the vehicle chassis is both stiff and
massive.
In the following, such a dynamic model is described. The ABAQUS finite
element software is used for model analysis. The model's resonant mode shapes
are calculated, and random vibration response due to the road roughness is
discussed. The vibration excitation sources are the road roughness, potholes, and
bumps.

Model
The finite element model of the tire, wheel, and suspension assembly is shown
in Fig. 1. The SAE J670e Tire Axis system is used throughout the analysis.

Tire Model
A single ply P205/75R15 passenger care tire is modeled. The tire's geometric
dimensions are:
Outer diameter = 685 m m
Section width = 205 m m

Kumho Technical Center, 3500 Embassy Parkway, Suite 150, Akron, OH 44331
2 Presented at the nineteenth annual conference of The Tire Society, Akron, Ohio, April 25-26, 2000.

66
 YU AND ABOUTORABI ON TIRE DYNAMICS 67

FIG. 1 -- The finite element model of the tire, wheel, suspension assembly.

The tire cross-section has 120 nodes and 76 solid elements. The ply and the belts
are modeled as REBARs in the solid elements. The 3D model has 46 sectors
around the circumference ranging from 4 to 10 degrees.

Wheel Model
The rim of the wheel is modeled with 7*46 symmetric shell elements. The tire
and the rim use common nodes at the interface. The hub is modeled using 12
solid elements. The solids and shells are connected by 12 beam elements around
the circumference as shown in Fig. 1. The density of the hub material is adjusted
to account for the total mass of the wheel.

Suspension Model
A McPherson strut with a steering linkage, Fig. 2, is modeled where:

Kingpin Inclination Angle = 12 deg

Caster Angle = 2 deg

Scrub Radius = - 18 mm

The ABAQUS MPC option is used to simulate the piston motion of the dashpot.
At the upper end of the suspension spring, a quarter vehicle mass of 400 kg
(900 lbs) is modeled. The spring is aligned so that the spring force and the
68 TIRE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 2 -- Model of the suspension showing the steering link and the A-arm.

vertical tire load intersect at the A-arm extension. With this spring alignment the
static lateral forces at the ball joints are zero, according to Hastey et al. [1].
The suspension spring constant is assumed to be 20 N/ram. This yields a
frequency of 1.1 Hz for the uncoupled mode of the sprung mass, which is typical
of experimental observations.
At the end of the steering linkage, a spring is added to simulate flexibility.
Negative eigenvalues are calculated when the spring is not stiff enough,
indicating instability of the system. After a few trials, a spring constant of 500
N/ram is selected.
At the A-arm to the vehicle interfaces and at the steering linkage to the vehicle
interface, large masses are modeled. The ABAQUS procedure used for random
vibration excites any fixed boundary node. These interfaces are not to be excited.
For this reason, instead of fixing these interfaces, large masses are modeled. The
large masses are stabilized with soft springs, k = 1 N/mm, to avoid numerical
instability.

Limitation
Rolling is not included in the model. Centrifugal and Coriolis forces are not
included. No pattern effect is included. No lateral groove is modeled. The tire
is assumed to be perfectly round. The lateral and radial force variations are
zero.
 YU AND ABOUTORABI ON TIRE DYNAMICS 69

Inflation and Loading

The tire is first inflated to 0.24 N/mm**2 (35 psi) resulting in an inflated radius
of 343.3 nun. A 4450 N vertical load is then applied, resulting in 20.6 mm
deflection. The center height of the wheel is thus at 322.7 ram. The friction
coefficient of 0.75 is used.

Modal Analyses
Natural Frequencies
Natural frequencies converge up to 320 Hz using the subspace eigenvalue
extraction method.
The natural frequencies are calculated for the assembly where the tire is in the
inflated and loaded condition. The stress stiffening effects due to inflation and
loading are included. The model of the tire alone is correlated with a modal test.
The natural frequencies of the system with wheel, suspension, and steering
linkage are different as shown in Table 1.
The inflated tire deflects 20.6 mm by the nominal vertical load of 4450 N. The
spring rate of the tire is 216 N/nun. Accounting for the stiffness of the suspension
spring, the uncoupled mode of the 53.8 kg unsprung mass calculates to 10.5 Hz.
The unsprung mass includes the tire, wheel, and the suspension struts. The model
calculates higher unsprung mass mode than the uncoupled mode, at 13.6 Hz,
because in the model, only a part of the A-arm and a part of the suspension mass
move with the wheel.

Vibration Modes
Some selected mode shapes are shown in Figs. 3-5.

TABLE 1 - - N a t u r a l frequencies of the tire, wheel, and suspension assembly.

Mounted and Inflated Tire

Inflated and Loaded
Tire, Wheel, and
Test Model Suspension Assembly Mode Shape

1.t0 Vehicle bouncing

10.50 Steering (shimmy)
13.60 Wheel hopping
41.15 42.19 44.89 0th lateral
47.16 49.31 1st lateral
55.64 47.49 57.20 0th torsional (fore-aft)
82.49 83.70 71.34 2nd lateral
73.31 1st steering
75.49 77.45 89.27 1st radial (vertical)
88.42 2rid steering (twisting)
98.38 1st radial (diagonal)
96.49 10t.72 110.83 2nd radial
70 TIRE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 3 - - Vehicle Bouncing Mode

Vehicle B o u n c i n g M o d e . The vehicle-bouncing mode is calculated at 1.1 Hz

(see Fig. 3). The vehicle vibration amplitude is high. The unsprung mass
vibration amplitude is low.
S h i m m y a n d W o b b l e V i b r a t i o n M o d e , Shimmy is a typical vibration of the
rolling tire; see [2]. Figure 4 depicts the mode shape associated with the shimmy
vibration.
Without the steering linkage, the model is free to steering motion. Therefore,
zero frequency shimmy vibration mode must be calculated. ABAQUS did not
calculate a zero frequency mode. Instead, the execution was interrupted with a
message that the system is not positive definite, indicating the presence of an
instability in the model.

FIG. 4 - Shimmy vibration mode.

 YU AND ABOUTORABI ON TIRE DYNAMICS 71

i I

FIG. 5 -- Wheel-hopping vibration mode.

The model, analysis method, and the results were reviewed critically for any
possible error that might have caused negative stiffness. None was found. The
only plausible explanation is to conclude that the shimmy and wobble instability
is built in the inflated and loaded tire. The friction in the footprint constrains the
lateral motion of the contact patch contributing to the incipient buckling of the
flattened portion of the belt's band. This is what causes the instability of the
system.
To stabilize the system, a steering linkage with a spring constant of 200 N/ram
is added. With this addition, ABAQUS calculates negative eigenvalues, at - 6 4 1
( - 4 . 0 Hz). A positive eigenvalue +4348 (10.5 Hz) is calculated when the
stiffness of the spring is increased to 500 N/ram.
The steering linkage must be designed to be stiff enough to overcome the
buckling tendency in the footprint in order to avoid shimmy and wobble
vibrations.
Wheel Hopping Mode. The wheel-hopping mode is calculated at 13.6 Hz and
is shown in Fig. 5. Assuming a rolling radius of 325 mm, the tire's first radial
unbalance will excite this mode at a speed of about 100 km/h.
Tire Vibration Modes. The tire vibrates at many different modes other than the
low frequency vehicle-bouncing, wheel-hopping, and shimmy modes. The modal
density is extremely high at higher frequencies. Much finer mesh densities are
needed to capture the higher frequency modes. Typical natural frequencies are
listed in Table 1.
Wheel and Suspension Vibrations. A wheel and suspension model without the
tire was made. The bouncing and steering modes were calculated at 3.8 and 17.4
72 TIRE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Critical S p e e d vs, E x c i t e d M o d e
700
\

E400
600

500
\
"o
~, 300
o..

200

100

i , i

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Mode Number

FIG. 6 -- Critical speed vs. excited radial mode.

Hz, respectively. The first wheel deformation mode was calculated at 122 Hz.
Above 122 Hz, the tire, wheel, and suspension vibrations are coupled.

Critical Speeds'
The critical speed is the speed of the tire at the natural frequencies. If we
assume a rolling radius of 325 mm, then the distance traveled per revolution is
2.04 m. The following critical speeds are calculated that are in resonance with the
radial modes:
Critical speed (kin/h) = 2.04 (m/rev) * (3600/1000) * natural freq./mode no.
The eighth and higher radial modes of the tire are coupled with local vibrations
in the current model. The local vibration modes are not excited to higher
amplitudes by the rolling. A half wavelength of the radial mode and the size of
the footprint must be compared. If the 10th radial mode were excited, the critical
speed would be about 200 km/h (see Fig. 6).
The natural frequency of a rolling tire is different. Table 2 shows the critical
speeds calculated from a non-rolling tire.

Road Roughness
Assuming 50 mph speed, the power spectral density given in [3] is used for
input into a random response analysis. The graph is reproduced in Fig. 7. The
roughness above 50 Hz is extrapolated up to 320 Hz.

Response to the Road Roughness

The Spindle Vibration at Resonance Frequencies
The vertical acceleration response of the model to the road roughness at the
spindle and at the top of the tire is plotted in Fig. 8. The notable amplitude peaks
 YU AND ABOUTORABI ON TIRE DYNAMICS 73

TABLE 2 - - Speeds needed to excite radial modes.

Mode No. Natural Frequency (Hz) Critical Speed (km/h)

1 89.3 656
2 110.8 407
3 121,5 298
4 133.5 245
5 154.4 227
6 176.5 216
7 198.2 208

are at the vehicle-bouncing mode, 1.1 Hz, at the wheel-hopping mode, 13.6 Hz,
and at the tire first radial mode, 88.4 Hz.
The high amplitude spindle vibration at the first radial mode is measured by
Potts et al. [4] for Firestone FR70-14 cleat roll over tests and by Scavuzzo et al.
[5] for an 185/75R14 tire by means of impact tests. Similar measurements are
also reported by Kido et al. [6]. All these measurements show a characteristic
double peak response corresponding to wheel-hopping and the tire's first radial
modes. The results obtained with the current model are in qualitative agreement
with these measurements.
The first radial mode vibration is the dominant tire vibration that is transmitted
to the vehicle. The spindle vibration amplitude is low at all other tire mode
frequencies.
At 111 Hz, the top and the bottom of the tire vibrate in phase, similar to the
first radial mode at 89 Hz. The tire vibration is transmitted to the vehicle.
However, the spindle vibration amplitude at 111 Hz is much lower.
The road roughness excitation becomes lower at lower frequencies. Thus, a
lower frequency for the first radial mode is desirable.

The Spindle Vibration at Anti-Resonance Frequencies

At the resonance frequencies of 132 Hz, 154 Hz, 177 Hz, and 198 Hz, the top
and the bottom of the tire vibrate out-of-phase. While the tire vibrates, the spindle
stays. At the resonance frequencies of 89 Hz and l 11 Hz, the top and the bottom
of the tire vibrate in phase. The spindle vibrates with the fire.
Above 111 Hz, the tire has many resonance frequencies. The modal density is
very high at higher frequencies. In between the resonance frequencies, the tire is
rigid and the road roughness is transmitted to the spindle. These are called
anti-resonance frequencies. Flexible tires with high modal densities vibrate in
response to the road roughness, but do not transmit forces to the vehicle.

R M S Amplitudes
Up to 320 Hz, the RMS amplitudes in the vertical direction are shown in
Table 3.
74 TIRE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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FIG. 7 - - Elevation, velocity, and acceleration PSDs of road roughness input to a vehicle traveling
at 50 mph on a real and average road. Taken from [3].

The vibration of the bottom of the tire represents the roughness of the road.
The RMS acceleration of the top of the tire is about 37% of the bottom for this
model with 3% damping. The spindle RMS acceleration is less than 1% of the
road roughness.
 YU AND ABOUTORABI ON TIRE DYNAMICS 75

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10

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FIG. 8 - - Vertical acceleration response of the model to road roughness at the spindle and at the top
of the tire.

The expected frequency indicates that the axle vibration amplitude is high at
lower frequencies as shown in Fig. 8.
A tire, which results in lower values for the spindle RMS acceleration and
expected frequency, is classified as better.

Lateral and Torsional Vibrations

In this model, vibration is excited only in the vertical direction. The steering
mode, the lateral mode, and the fore-aft mode are not excited. The responses are
not calculated.

Acoustic Intensity
The acoustic intensity is proportional to the RMS velocity squared as
discussed in [7]

TABLE 3 --RMS amplitudes and their expected frequencies.

Acceleration Velocity Displacement Expected Frequency

Location (mm/sz) (nun/s) (mm) (nz)

Contact patch 7.45E + 05 465 1.28 58

Top of the tire 2.74E+05 253 1,64 24
Spindle 8376 77 1.68 7
76 TIRE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

FIG. 9 - - Contour plot of the x-component of the RMS velocity.

I = p * c * (Ue~us) 2

where p = density of air, c = speed of sound, and URM s = root mean square
velocity.
The x-, y-, and z-components of the root mean square velocity are plotted in
Figs. 9-11. Up to 320 Hz, the RMS velocity contours show high acoustic
intensity above the contact patch and at the leading and the trailing edges.
The velocity PSD's of selected points show the velocity amplitude is high at
the higher frequencies following the road roughness PSD. Figure 12 represents
the magnitude of total velocity at selected points around the tire circumference.
As indicated in [8], the sound pressure PSD of the tire noise is high around
1000 Hz. To evaluate the acoustics, a vibration analysis up to a few thousand Hz
is necessary. Also, the pattern noise and the air pumping contribute much to
noise. Here, only the structural vibration up to 320 Hz is evaluated.

Conclusions

The natural frequencies and the vibration modes are calculated successfully for
this highly non-linear tire, wheel and suspension assembly. It was discovered
that:
9 The steering system must be manufactured to be stiff enough to compensate
for the inherent instability caused by the tire in contact.
 YU AND ABOUTORABI ON TIRE DYNAMICS 77

FIG. 10 -- Contour plot of the y-component of the RMS velocity.

FIG. 11 - - Contour plot of the z-component of the RMS velocity.

78 TIRE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

1.E+05

W"------
1.E+04

~ 1.E+03

._~ 1.E+02

>
J .t/.-- ' J f~
1.E+01
o
I--
",1,~ //" .... 0 Deg
1.E+O0

1 .E-01 i
50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Frequency

FIG. 12--Total velocity PSDsofselected poin~ around the tire circumference fromthe center of
footprint.

9 The spindle vibration amplitude is high at the vehicle-bouncing mode, wheel

hopping mode, and the tire first radial mode. The tire first radial mode is the
dominant mode for transmission of vibration to the vehicle. A lower first
radial mode natural frequency is desired, because this will ensure that the
transmitted vibrations to the vehicle due to the road roughness excitation are
at lower frequencies.
The results of the simulations indicate that tires vibrate in response to the road
roughness input, but only at certain frequencies are forces transmitted to the
vehicle through the suspension system. It is as if the tires act to absorb and
dissipate road roughness. Thus, flexible fires with high modal densities may do
a better job at masking the vibrations generated due to road roughness.

References
[1] Hastey, J. P., Bandelet, J., Gerard, E., Jones, C., and Viel, C., "Optimization on Mac Pherson
Suspensions with a Spring," in "Steering and Suspension Technology," SAE Paper No. SP-1223.
[2] "Mechanics of Pneumatic Tires," S. M. Clark, Ed., US Department of Transportation.
[3] Gillespie, T. D., "Fundamentals of Vehicle Dynamics," SAE Publication, 1992, p. 130.
[4] Potts, G. R., Bell, C. A., Charek, L. T., and Roy, T. K., "Tire Vibrations," Tire Science and
Technology, TSTCA, Vol. 5, No. 4, October-December 1977, pp. 202-225.
[5] Scavuzzo, R. W., Richards, T. R., and Charek, L. T., "Tire Vibration Modes and Effects on
Vehicle Ride Quality," Tire Science and Technology, TSTCA, Vol. 21, No. 1, January-March
1993, pp. 23-39.
[6] Kido, I., Nakamura, A., Hayashi, T., and Asai, M., "Suspension Vibration Analysis for Road
Noise Using Finite Element Model," SAE Paper No. 1999-01-1788.
[7] Kinsler, L. E., Frey, A. R., Coppens, A. B., and Sanders, J. V., Fundamentals of Acoustics, John
Wiley and Sons, 1982
[8] Olms, H. and Breuer, B., "Sounding Out," Tire Technology International, UK & International
Press, Sept. 1999, pp. 22-28.