Thesis Work Wheel Imbalance Detection

About this opportunity - Background

At Vehicle Engineering our responsibility spans the entire chassis interior climate body & exterior functions mechanical Integration and a range of vehicle attributes with impact on design and customer experience of our complete product. Across these domains and all development cycles we will lead an effective delivery operation on a complete level in close sync with other Engineering units functions and stakeholders across the company.

This thesis is within the area of Suspension Functions and SW Integration.

As vehicle technology advances more sophisticated and refined vehicle diagnostics methods are introduced providing a thorough view of the overall vehicle systems performance. This thesis focuses on wheel imbalance detection and eventual countermeasures that the available control systems can take to mitigate its severity.

Wheel imbalance can occur if the weight of the wheel mainly the tire and rim assembly is not evenly distributed around it. It can manifest as vibrations at the steering wheel uneven steering response and tire wear. This thesis focuses on detecting unbalanced wheels and even proposing methods for adapting the control of suspension and steering systems to mitigate those effects.

Scope of the thesis work

Objectives
1. Evaluate the capability of wheel imbalance detection using sensors available on a modern vehicle.
2. Develop algorithms for the detection and classification of the level of imbalance.
3. Evaluate the capability of an active/semi-active suspension system to mitigate the effects of the detected imbalance and propose a respective algorithm.

Research Questions
Can wheel imbalance be detected with the use of available sensors e.g. suspension height sensors accelerometers steering wheel sensor wheel speed sensor etc.
What are the limitations in terms of sensor placement resolution and delays
How does the estimation accuracy compare to that of dedicated motion sensors
How to cancel wheel imbalance including balancing versus harshness added to sprung mass.

Methodology
1. Sensor Data Acquisition
Collect data from vehicles with balanced and unbalanced wheels.
2. Signal Processing
Perform any necessary signal processing on the acquired data.
3. Wheel imbalance detection
Implement sensor processing algorithms or pattern recognition algorithms to detect imbalances.
4. Verification
Apply the algorithm to vehicles with unbalanced wheels and assess its performance.

Expected Outcomes
A method/algorithm that can be used to identify wheel imbalances and respective confidence.
A control algorithm that can be used to mitigate the severity of the imbalances.

Tools & Resources
MATLAB/Simulink for data analysis and algorithm development.
IPG CarMaker for simulation of vehicle driving scenarios.
Test car utilization for complete level algorithm evaluation.

What youll bring

The eligible candidates must have competence in:
Signal processing
Control systems
Matlab/Simulink or C/C
Vehicle Dynamics

Possessing a driving license B valid in Sweden and previous experience with vehicle simulation software (IPG CarMaker VI CarRealTime) is strongly meritorious.

Duration

Tentative proposed thesis work period: 19th January 2026 to 26th of June 2026 (dates can be flexible with /- 7 days)
Academic credits: equivalent to 30 ECTS
Number of students: 1-2 students (2 students preferred)