Commercial Vehicle Tire Tread Base Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commercial vehicle tires often suffer from deep cuts or tears in the tread that extend to the belt layers, leading to reduced durability and impaired retreadability due to existing tread designs that do not adequately protect the belt layers from injuries and overheating.
Innovation Solution
A pneumatic vehicle tire design with a tread base featuring a central section of rubber mixture with lower rebound resilience at 70°C and higher hysteresis, and lateral sections with higher rebound resilience and lower hysteresis, where the central section is softer and extends to protect the mid-section from injuries, and the lateral sections are harder to prevent overheating, using different rubber compounds tailored for each section to enhance durability and retreadability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the tread base is made from a single rubber compound optimized for hysteresis, then rolling resistance is reduced, but the tread is susceptible to deep cuts and tears that extend to the belt layers
Solution Approach 1:
The tread base is divided into multiple sections (central and lateral) with different rubber compounds. The central section uses a softer compound with higher hysteresis to absorb impacts and protect against cuts, while lateral sections use harder compounds for stability. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function optimally.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the tread base are assigned different rubber compound properties tailored to their specific functional requirements. The central section has higher hysteresis for injury protection, while lateral sections have lower hysteresis for reduced rolling resistance and heat buildup prevention in those specific areas.
2Reliability
If the central section of the tread base uses a softer rubber mixture with higher hysteresis, then protection against cuts and tears is improved, but heat buildup increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tread base is segmented into central and lateral sections with different thermal and mechanical properties. The central section handles impact absorption while lateral sections manage heat dissipation, preventing localized overheating in any single region.
Solution Approach 2:
The rubber compound properties are locally optimized: the central section has higher hysteresis for injury protection where impacts occur, while lateral sections have lower hysteresis to minimize heat buildup in areas more susceptible to thermal accumulation during rotation.
3Temperature
If the tread base is made harder to reduce heat buildup, then temperature-critical areas are protected, but the tread becomes more susceptible to injuries that reach the belt layers
Solution Approach 1:
The tread base is divided into zones with different hardness levels. The central section uses softer compound for injury protection, while lateral sections use harder compound for heat management, allowing both requirements to be satisfied simultaneously in different locations.
Solution Approach 2:
Hardness and hysteresis properties are tailored to local requirements: softer in the central section where impact protection is critical, and harder in lateral sections where heat buildup prevention is the priority, optimizing overall tire performance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The tire design significantly reduces injuries to the belt layers, minimizes damage from heat buildup, and ensures retreadability by protecting the mid-section with a low resilience compound and keeping peripheral areas cool, resulting in improved durability and extended tire life.
Implementation Method 1
a rubber mixture with low rebound resilience at 70° C. (high hysteresis) in the tread strip base reduces injuries in the tread strip cap. The rubber compound of the base gives way.
Implementation Method 2
a compound with higher rebound resilience (low hysteresis) and thus lower heat build-up is located on the lateral sections of the tread base to keep the temperature-critical areas of the tire, namely the belt edge, cooler.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a vehicle tire, in particular for commercial vehicles, having a radial carcass (3), a multi-layer belt (2), and a tread (1) that, in the radial direction, comprises two layers made of different rubber mixtures, a tread cap (5), and a tread base (6), wherein the tread base (6) comprises a central segment (6a) and two lateral segments (6b) that at least face radially outward when seen in the axial direction, wherein the central segment (6a) is made of a rubber mixture for better durability and for ensuring retreading capability, said mixture having a recoil elasticity at 70 °C as per DIN 53 512 that is lower than the rubber mixture of the two lateral segments (6b) of the tread base (6).