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.