Application of artificial neural networks for the prediction of traction performance parameters

This study handles artificial neural networks (ANN) modeling to predict tire contact area and rolling resistance due to the complex and nonlinear interactions between soil and wheel that mathematical, numerical and conventional models fail to investigate multivariate input and output relationships with nonlinear and complex characteristics. Experimental data acquisitioning was carried out using a soil bin facility with single-wheel tester at seven inflation pressures of tire (i.e. 100–700 kPa) and seven different wheel loads (1–7 KN) with two soil textures and two tire types. The experimental datasets were used to develop a feed-forward with back propagation ANN model. Four criteria (i.e. R-value, T value, mean squared error, and model simplicity) were used to evaluate model’s performance. A well-trained optimum 4-6-2 ANN provided the best accuracy in modeling contact area and rolling resistance with regression coefficients of 0.998 and 0.999 and T value and MSE of 0.996 and 2.55 × 10−12, respectively. It was found that ANNs due to faster, more precise, and considerably reliable computation of multivariable, nonlinear, and complex computations are highly appropriate for soil–wheel interaction modeling.