Analytical Fundamentals of Digital Image Correlation for Characterization of Agile Tire Dynamics

Principal Investigators

• Cosme Furlong (PI), Worchester Polytechnic Institute
• Lee Moradi (co-PI), WPI

Researchers

• Vladimir Vantsevich, Daniel Ruiz-Cadalso, Jonathan Luiz, Jesse Paldan, WPI

Students

• Mayank Arora, WPI

Government

• Philip Frederick, Graham Fiorani, U.S. Army GVSC

Industry

• Gene Lukianov, VRAD Engineering, LLC
• Douglas Milliken, Milliken Research Associates, Inc.

Project #3.A121 begins in 2025.

Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is a non-contact optical method used to measure full-field surface displacements and strains by comparing digital images of a material’s surface taken before and after deformation. This technique employs high-resolution cameras to image a speckle pattern on the surface of the material and tracks the changes of these patterns between images. DIC has been effectively utilized to characterize the dynamics of tires, demonstrating the suitability of DIC for real-time, full-field and non-invasive measurements of tire deformation, making it a valuable tool for advancing tire dynamics research. This project expands and builds upon the work completed in ARC Project 3.A84, “A Tire/Soil Interaction Representation for Agile Tire Slippage Characterization and Detection”.

The primary objective is the design, simulation and optimization of novel and innovating DIC methods, along with complementary optical and non-destructive experimental techniques, for the experimental characterization of automotive tire performance to be completed in a parallel GVSC project. Building up on previous research, the focus is on enhancing our understanding of tire vertical, longitudinal and lateral dynamics, particularly in terms of combined deformation, tire slippage, and relaxation dynamics. The research will allow for developing new fundamentals for agile tire dynamics on a rigid surface. Such fundamentals will make a foundation for expanding the newly developed knowledge to deformable surfaces for improving agile vehicle mobility. For these agile tire characterizations, both steady-state and transient conditions must be considered. The basic research objectives are the following:

1. Theoretically investigate and simulate agile tire slippage and longitudinal relaxation dynamics Analytically investigate tire slippage and longitudinal relaxation dynamics and simulate deformations under different steady-state and transient loading conditions.
2. Simulate and optimize the application of our proposed novel 3-D Digital Image Correlation (3DDIC) approaches Create and refine high-speed 3D-DIC protocols for capturing full-field tire deformation.
3. Study the integration of complementary optical measurement techniques Assess and integrate other full-field optical measurement techniques, such as shearography, structured light projection and laser triangulation, alongside 3D-DIC.
4. Define experimental settings and protocols for parallel GVSC projects Using the methods developed in research objectives 1, 2, and 3, establish comprehensive experimental settings and protocols for tire dynamics studies.

#3.A121