Jaguar Land Rover relies on Kistler RoaDyn system to generate real world operating conditions data for precise tyre modeling. The Kistler method adopted by JLR employs RoaDyn wheel force transducers for measuring the three forces and three moments of a rotating wheel under real world operating conditions. A large SUV fitted with four RoaDyn measuring wheels and other sensors is used to gather data about tyre performance, on a variety of on-road and off-road surfaces, ranging from vehicle dynamic platforms to ice, snow and also mud.
The data signals from the six-3 component strain gauge load cells are amplified in the load cell and fed to the wheel electronics where data are filtered, digitized and coded, reducing signal noise and crosstalk. The system acquires approximately 170 data channels, producing a huge amount of data for each tyre/road surface combination, building up a comprehensive dataset for developing a highly precise, computer generated tyre model. It allows not only to significantly reduce physical testing, cutting the development costs, but it will also, in the medium to long term, allows to co-operate with tyre manufacturer to design the desired tyre based on simulation results. The robust data from the Kistler RoaDyn programme will enable to confidently apply CAE to every part of the development process, including the tyres.