Development of advanced algorithms based on physical thermal models for the estimation of tyre dynamic behaviour by smart tyre devices data

The theme of this work is part of the broad context of the industrial research development described by the challenges of the Horizon 2020 society, with particular reference to the "Digital Agenda, Smart Communities, Intelligent Mobility Systems" line. It is inserted in the following areas: • Intelligent urban mobility systems for logistics and people; • Safety systems of the urban environment, environmental monitoring and prevention of critical or risk events; • Embedded electronic systems, intelligent sensor networks, internet of things. In particular, the huge technological progress achieved in past few years has contributed to give a great drive towards the development of advanced safety and monitoring systems for automotive applications. In a context of great revolution in the transport system that the inhabitants of the planet are preparing to live, the primary targets are the raising of road safety standards and the creation of a vehicular network for the sharing of traffic information and the dynamic state of the car park. The automotive sector is experiencing a phase of profound change, fuelled by the progressive establishment of embedded systems oriented to the well-known concept of smart and sustainable mobility, with the target set by autonomous driving systems on the horizon. The object of the study are the innovative tyres called "smart tyres", characterized by a structure equipped with integrated sensors useful for acquiring information on the vehicle and on the road. The smart tyre is an element of great innovation as it allows to increase the level of interaction between vehicle and driver and allows to observe the phenomena of tyre-road interaction. In fact, the availability of a measuring element located in the contact area, provides numerous points of use, both in science and industry such as monitoring of the tread wear level, evaluation of the friction level, monitoring of user behaviour and manoeuvres (aimed at studying traffic dynamics), etc. These models allow great progress both in order to increase performance, but above all to safeguard the safety of passengers and pedestrians. Thanks to the continuous monitoring offered by a sensorized car park, it is possible to have information about, for example, soil roughness mapping (useful in the planning of maintenance interventions), the management of emergency assistance in the event of accidents, the supply of intelligent traffic light networks, the offer of insurance rates based on the most frequent itineraries and driving style. The development of physical and real-time algorithms would provide the additional level of predictability that such systems need in view of large-scale deployment. The development of real-time simulation models related to the tyre / road interaction, the identification of the vehicle subsystems with which the smart tyres are appropriate to interact, as well as the evaluation of these interactions are aimed at optimizing the dynamic behaviour of the vehicle. The integration of multiple subsystems will represent one of the added values providing important insights regarding the communication methodologies between physical systems and the related virtual representations. The traditional approaches SIL (software-in-the-loop) and HIL (hardware-in-the-loop) will evolve in the direction of a scenario that foresees the human being as a central element in the testing and validation chain, arriving at configurations of the DIL type (driver-in the-loop). In perspective it is also expected that the driver can be replaced by an autonomous control system.