A Tire Temperature Adaptive Extended Kalman Filter for Sideslip Angle Estimation: Experimental Validation on a Race Track

Real-time estimation of vehicle sideslip angle is essential for both safety and performance applications. This study presents a temperature-adaptive Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) that estimates the sideslip angle of a racing vehicle by integrating dynamic and kinematic information. A temperature-dependent Pacejka tire model, derived directly from track tests, is embedded in a 3-degree-of-freedom dual-track vehicle model and used within the EKF to compensate for temperature-induced variations in tire behavior. The adaptive model parameters are identified from standard on-track maneuvers conducted at different tire temperatures, without the need for additional indoor rig testing. Experimental validation on a race track demonstrates that incorporating tire temperature adaptation and combining dynamic and kinematic estimation significantly enhance estimation accuracy, particularly underow-grip and high-performance driving conditions attested by a reduction of 40–50% in RMS error and a further reduction in maximum absolute error.