PM-FlexTire provides realistic tire modeling for soft-soil DEM, enhancing virtual mobility development. It solves the problem of accurately simulating tire deformation and high-fidelity forces in challenging off-road environments. By including unique features like time-varying air pressure and detailed tread interaction, it offers a superior, cost-effective tool for optimizing off-road vehicle performance and design within DEM simulations.
Accurate loaded radius and contact patch size and shape are co-simulated with MBD modeling solutions and the EDEM soft-soil modeling environment.
Contact pressure distribution and loaded radius accurately vary with tire pressure, including very low pressures used in off-road soft-soil operating conditions.
User-defined (meshed) 3D tire treads interact with the DEM particulate soil models and increase the ground contact modeling fidelity.
Propulsion controls for soft-soil mobility were delayed until vehicle prototypes existed, hindering simultaneous optimization. Accurate soft-soil tire/terrain modeling now enables virtual optimization of complete vehicle systems across varied terrain.