Heavy Vehicle Tire Tread Evolving Groove Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tire treads for heavy vehicles do not adequately balance rigidity and wear performance, particularly on wet pavements, leading to reduced grip and premature wear, necessitating frequent retreading.
Innovation Solution
A tread design featuring secondary grooves with connecting parts that maintain rigidity by limiting incision depth and incorporating blocking means, such as zigzag shapes and widening sections, to ensure consistent performance and indicate legal wear limits, allowing the tread to regenerate as it wears while maintaining grip on both dry and wet surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If incisions are made to improve wet pavement grip, then water flow capability is improved, but tread rigidity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The incisions are segmented into lateral parts and a connecting part, with the connecting part having limited depth to maintain structural integrity while the lateral parts provide water evacuation channels. This segmentation allows the tread to have both water flow capability and sufficient rigidity.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting part of the incisions has different depth characteristics compared to the lateral parts. The connecting part is limited in depth (not exceeding 90% of tread thickness) to maintain local rigidity, while the lateral parts extend deeper to provide effective water evacuation. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between water flow and rigidity.
2Reliability
If grooves are made deeper to improve water evacuation, then wet pavement performance is improved, but tread wear resistance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The tread pattern is designed to evolve dynamically during wear. The connecting parts of the incisions are positioned and dimensioned so that as the tread wears, the grooves deepen and the connecting parts eventually disconnect, transforming the tread pattern from an evolving state to a stable state. This dynamic evolution allows deep grooves for water evacuation without compromising initial wear resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting parts are pre-positioned at specific depths (not exceeding 90% of tread thickness) to prevent excessive groove deepening during early wear stages. This preliminary structural constraint prevents the grooves from becoming too deep too quickly, thereby extending tread lifespan while still providing adequate water evacuation capability.
3Reliability
If multiple incisions are added to enhance wet grip, then water flow capability is improved, but structural integrity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The depth parameter of the connecting parts is specifically controlled to not exceed 90% of the total tread thickness. This parameter constraint ensures that even with multiple incisions present, the structural integrity of the tread is maintained by preserving sufficient material in the radially outer portion of the tread.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4
AI summary
The invention relates to a tread for a tyre of a heavy vehicle, having a wear material thickness PMU, and comprising: at least two main grooves (3, 4) having a depth (P1) similar to, or equal to, the PMU, said main grooves (3, 4) defining a raised element (2); at least one secondary groove (5) having a depth P2 that is shallower than the depth P1 of the main grooves (3, 4), said secondary groove (5) extending in the raised element (2) and having a groove bottom (50), and each main and secondary groove being oriented in a main circumferential or near-circumferential direction corresponding to the mean direction of a flow of liquid in each groove; a plurality of incisions (6) formed in the raised element (2), each of said incisions comprising side parts (61, 62) formed either side of the secondary groove (5), said side parts (61, 62) being interconnected by a connecting part (63), and said connecting part (63) being formed radially towards the inside of the tread from the bottom (50) of the secondary groove (5). Said tread is characterised in that the connecting part (63) comprises an incision portion (630) oriented in the main direction of the secondary groove (5), i.e. forming a maximum angle of 30° with the circumferential direction.