Search Results

Tire cornering forces are often measured in the laboratory on a high-friction surface and little information exists on the nature of cornering on other surfaces. Thus, the impact of winter roads on vehicle behavior is difficult to fully capture in vehicle dynamics simulations. The CRREL (Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory) Instrumented Vehicle was used to measure cornering forces on winter surfaces. The vehicle was instrumented for forces, speeds, and a variety of other measures. Tests were performed at the Keweenaw Research Center in Northern Michigan, during February 2005, and included measurements on ice, packed snow, and undisturbed snow. Packed snow density was 0.5 g/cm3 and loose snow densities ranged from 0.07 to 0.23 g/cm3 with depths from 5 to 23 cm. The test technique involved towing the vehicle in a straight line while sweeping the steering angle from zero to approximately 17 degrees both left and right.