This report explores the tools required to develop traction control for an electric vehicle. A starting
point for this is to consider slip control of an individual wheel. A model of a vehicle is needed to
ensure the fidelity of the control. As friction between the tyre and the road is the main force that
acts on the vehicle, this is studied in detail. The Dahl model (PR Dahl 1968) for friction is
investigated as it is a dynamic model that captures some key friction phenomena with only two
parameters. Simulation of the model is conducted in the Simulink environment. The model was
validated against results from the literature on the LuGre model (Canudas de Wit et al. 1995) as
well an experiment on micro-slip (Olofsson 1995). It was found that for the Dahl model displayed
drift for a constant applied force less than the Coulomb friction force. The addition of a damping
term produced a presliding displacement curve that fit the results of the more complex LuGre
model. The Dahl model was shown to capture the general presliding behaviour shown by the
experimental data. A quarter vehicle model was built in Simulink to enable simulation of tyre and
suspension dynamics. The response of this model was validated against a similar model found in the
literature. The Dahl model and quarter vehicle model were combined to model vehicle motion in
the longitudinal direction. Simulations of acceleration tests for two different electric vehicles were
validated against test data from the vehicle manufacturers and car reviewers. The model showed
reasonable agreement with the data given that torque and power had to be estimated