Application
2018-05-18
Aquaplane Testing
Overview
Aquaplaning by a vehicle occurs when the water between the vehicle's tyres and the road surface cannot be displaced, leaving a permanent layer of water between the tyres and the road surface.
This causes the wheels to slip and prevents the vehicle from responding to inputs such as steering, braking or accelerating. As a result the vehicle can go out of control, particularly if the steered wheels are involved.
To combat this tyre manufacturers must ensure the tread pattern they use effectively removes excess water. To evaluate the tryes performance, tests must therefore be carried out with a high level of accuracy and consistency.
The RACELOGIC VTS Aquaplane software can be used alongside the VBOX range of data loggers. The plugins allow the user to easily obtain results for both longitudinal and lateral aquaplane applications, helping to gain a greater understanding of the characteristics and behaviour of the tyres under test.
<Ctitle>Watch the VTS Lateral Aquaplane plugin in use: </Ctitle>
<Ctitle>Watch the VTS Longitudinal Aquaplane plugin in use:</Ctitle>
https://www.youtube.com
System Features
Key Features
<Ctitle>Longitudinal</Ctitle>
• Simple to set-up and use
• Clear, easy to read indication of wheels speeds and percentage slip
• Map integration - overlay a positional trace onto a satellite image
• Compatible with any VBOX data logger
• Video integration
• No in-depth VBOX knowledge required
• Automated wheel speed calibration procedure
• No external beacons required
• Manually set line conditions
<Ctitle>Lateral</Ctitle>
• Simple to set-up and use
• Clear, easy to read pass/fail criteria
• Produces a customisable report of Entry Speed vs Lateral Acceleration
• Map integration - overlay a positional trace onto a satellite image
• Compatible with any VBOX data logger
• Video integration
• No in-depth VBOX knowledge required
• Automated wheel speed calibration procedure
• Customisable entry conditions allow the user to ensure the vehicle enters the bath in a stead state
Measured Parameters
<Ctitle>Longitudinal</Ctitle>
• Speed
• Wheel slip (either from Vehicle CAN or external sensor)
• Distance
<Ctitle>Lateral</Ctitle>
• Entry Speed
• Lateral Acceleration
Dedicated Test Software
VTS Longitudinal Aquaplane plugin
The VTS Longitudinal Aquaplane plugin can be used to denote a threshold slip value for each wheel, providing the user with the opportunity to choose between reaching the aquaplane condition when one, or all of the tyres, exceed this value.
It provides the ability to set pre-entry test conditions in order to ensure the vehicle is in a steady state before the test begins, and automatically calibrates wheel speeds simply by driving at a constant speed - removing the restraints of having to calibrate within the test area.
VTS Lateral Aquaplane plugin
As test entry speeds increase, the lateral acceleration obtained will also increase. However, once the vehicle starts to aquaplane the acceleration values begin to decline.
By closely monitoring the vehicle's lateral acceleration throughout the test procedure, the VTS Lateral Aquaplane plugin produces a comprehensive report outlining in detail the maximum acceleration obtained and how quickly, and to what degree, this value decreases when the tyres begin to aquaplane.
This data can be directly compared to other tyre compounds to provide engineers with the infomation needed to grade tyre performance in wet corner conditions.
Test Procedures
<Ctitle>Longitudinal Aquaplane</Ctitle>
Test procedure:
• Wheel speeds are automatically calibrated to the GPS speed by driving at a constant speed.
• Accelerate to a required speed before reaching the start line.
• Pre-test entry conditions allow the user to ensure the vehicle entered the bath in a steady state.
• Accelerate in the water with an immediate application of full throttle until aquaplaning occurs - the point of aquaplaning being defined as a pre-set percentage slip of one or more wheels. The percentage slip is calculated as a function of wheel speed against known GPS speed.
The distance travelled in the water prior to aquaplaning, combined with the speed reached at this point, can then be used as a measure of the tyres resistance to aquaplaning.
<Ctitle>
<Ctitle>Lateral Aquaplane</Ctitle>
Test procedure:
Test procedure:
• Set start of test line, start of bath line and finish line.
• Accelerate to required entry speed.
• Pre-test entry conditions allow the user to ensure the vehicle entered the bath in a steady state.
• Gradually increase the entry speed until loss of control.
• The software then returns lateral acceleration figures for each entry speed and produces a graph of entry speed vs lateral acceleration.
Aquaplaning by a vehicle occurs when the water between the vehicle's tyres and the road surface cannot be displaced, leaving a permanent layer of water between the tyres and the road surface.
This causes the wheels to slip and prevents the vehicle from responding to inputs such as steering, braking or accelerating. As a result the vehicle can go out of control, particularly if the steered wheels are involved.
To combat this tyre manufacturers must ensure the tread pattern they use effectively removes excess water. To evaluate the tryes performance, tests must therefore be carried out with a high level of accuracy and consistency.
The RACELOGIC VTS Aquaplane software can be used alongside the VBOX range of data loggers. The plugins allow the user to easily obtain results for both longitudinal and lateral aquaplane applications, helping to gain a greater understanding of the characteristics and behaviour of the tyres under test.
<Ctitle>Watch the VTS Lateral Aquaplane plugin in use: </Ctitle>
<Ctitle>Watch the VTS Longitudinal Aquaplane plugin in use:</Ctitle>
https://www.youtube.com
System Features
Key Features
<Ctitle>Longitudinal</Ctitle>
• Simple to set-up and use
• Clear, easy to read indication of wheels speeds and percentage slip
• Map integration - overlay a positional trace onto a satellite image
• Compatible with any VBOX data logger
• Video integration
• No in-depth VBOX knowledge required
• Automated wheel speed calibration procedure
• No external beacons required
• Manually set line conditions
<Ctitle>Lateral</Ctitle>
• Simple to set-up and use
• Clear, easy to read pass/fail criteria
• Produces a customisable report of Entry Speed vs Lateral Acceleration
• Map integration - overlay a positional trace onto a satellite image
• Compatible with any VBOX data logger
• Video integration
• No in-depth VBOX knowledge required
• Automated wheel speed calibration procedure
• Customisable entry conditions allow the user to ensure the vehicle enters the bath in a stead state
Measured Parameters
<Ctitle>Longitudinal</Ctitle>
• Speed
• Wheel slip (either from Vehicle CAN or external sensor)
• Distance
<Ctitle>Lateral</Ctitle>
• Entry Speed
• Lateral Acceleration
Dedicated Test Software
VTS Longitudinal Aquaplane plugin
The VTS Longitudinal Aquaplane plugin can be used to denote a threshold slip value for each wheel, providing the user with the opportunity to choose between reaching the aquaplane condition when one, or all of the tyres, exceed this value.
It provides the ability to set pre-entry test conditions in order to ensure the vehicle is in a steady state before the test begins, and automatically calibrates wheel speeds simply by driving at a constant speed - removing the restraints of having to calibrate within the test area.
VTS Lateral Aquaplane plugin
As test entry speeds increase, the lateral acceleration obtained will also increase. However, once the vehicle starts to aquaplane the acceleration values begin to decline.
By closely monitoring the vehicle's lateral acceleration throughout the test procedure, the VTS Lateral Aquaplane plugin produces a comprehensive report outlining in detail the maximum acceleration obtained and how quickly, and to what degree, this value decreases when the tyres begin to aquaplane.
This data can be directly compared to other tyre compounds to provide engineers with the infomation needed to grade tyre performance in wet corner conditions.
Test Procedures
<Ctitle>Longitudinal Aquaplane</Ctitle>
Test procedure:
• Wheel speeds are automatically calibrated to the GPS speed by driving at a constant speed.
• Accelerate to a required speed before reaching the start line.
• Pre-test entry conditions allow the user to ensure the vehicle entered the bath in a steady state.
• Accelerate in the water with an immediate application of full throttle until aquaplaning occurs - the point of aquaplaning being defined as a pre-set percentage slip of one or more wheels. The percentage slip is calculated as a function of wheel speed against known GPS speed.
The distance travelled in the water prior to aquaplaning, combined with the speed reached at this point, can then be used as a measure of the tyres resistance to aquaplaning.
<Ctitle>
<Ctitle>Lateral Aquaplane</Ctitle>
Test procedure:
Test procedure:
• Set start of test line, start of bath line and finish line.
• Accelerate to required entry speed.
• Pre-test entry conditions allow the user to ensure the vehicle entered the bath in a steady state.
• Gradually increase the entry speed until loss of control.
• The software then returns lateral acceleration figures for each entry speed and produces a graph of entry speed vs lateral acceleration.