Physical Based Modeling of a Tire

Description

The goal of this project is to demonstrate a tire simulation using physically based modeling.   Most of the work will concentrate on the deformation of the tire due to the forces applied.   The simulation should take into account forces resulting from the elasticity of the rubber tire, the air pressure in the tire, the rigid wheel, and collision with objects in the path of the tire.

In this project, C++ and OpenGL will be used as the computer graphics tool.   A three-dimensional model of a tire will be implemented, and the user will be able to tweak the material properties of the tire as well as the speed of the tire.   The user will be able to place different obstacles in the path of the tire.   The final output will be an animated simulation of a tire moving along a road with various obstacles - possibly in real time.

Background / Possible Approaches

• Mass-spring systems
  The elasticity of the tire will be modeled using a finite set of masses connected by springs that obey Hooke's Law.   A damping force between masses may be required as well, to prevent an unrealistic oscillating tire.
• Volume Determination
  As the tire deforms, the volume of the interior would change, resulting in a change in air pressure.   We need to find an efficient algorithm that computes the volume of the tire.
• Collision Detection and Response
  Obviously, the tire should interact with the obstacles, not move through them.   Collision detection and the computation of the forces resulting from a collision will be needed.

Links / Files

• Project Report index.html
• Poster poster.ppt

Group Members

• Randal Johnson (rsj6)
• Michael K. Lee (mkl7)