Vehicle Dynamics Control for Simultaneous Optimization of Tire Emissions and Performance in EVs

Abstract

In recent years, Electric Vehicles (EVs) have seen widespread public adoption. While EVs produce zero tailpipe emissions, they contribute to an increase in another type of vehicular emission: tire emissions. Battery-operated EVs are generally heavier than their combustion-engine counterparts and require greater acceleration forces, which their high-torque electric motors provide. This combination of increased weight and traction forces leads to higher tire emissions, which possess various adverse health and environmental effects. Here, we propose a control solution with promising results in mitigating tire wear in all-wheel-drive EVs. The idea is to utilize different tire profiles on each drive axis: a low-wear, low-traction axis and a high-wear, high-traction axis. Derived from detailed mathematical analyses, we propose a simple control scheme to counteract the performance difference from using the low-traction tires. The proposed control mechanism then distributes torque optimally between the two axes, maximizing usage from the low-wear axis and simultaneously maintaining stability and performance by leveraging high-traction tires. Through detailed numerical simulations, we demonstrate that the developed model significantly reduces tire emissions and maintains vehicle drivability and performance.