Vehicle-wet snow interaction: Testing, modeling and validation

For a vehicle interacting with snow, whether dry or wet, uncertainties exist in the mechanical properties of snow, and in the interfacial properties between the tires of the vehicle and snow. For dry snow, these uncertainties have been studied recently using methods within a statistical framework employing a simple stochastic tire-snow interaction model and several validation metrics. Wet snow is more complicated and much less studied than dry snow, especially for tire-snow interaction. In this paper, the authors used a physical tire-snow interaction model and a similar statistical framework as was used to analyze dry snow, and presented results of calibration and validation of the interaction model for wet snow in conjunction with new test data based on a single test run with the assumption that it would provide needed sampling points for statistical analysis. Four local and global statistical validation metrics were used to assess the physical and statistical models with good results. Comparison between wet and dry snow, based on a single test run, shows that the former has a lower interfacial coefficient of friction, and a higher drawbar pull than the latter.