Lightweight Tyre Design Optimizing Reinforcement Angles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Heavy-duty tires face challenges in maintaining endurance and reducing manufacturing costs, particularly due to the complexity and cost associated with the number of layers in the crown and bead areas, which affect cooking times and energy consumption during the vulcanization process.
Innovation Solution
A tire design with a radial carcass reinforcement featuring a single layer of carcass reinforcement inserted between polymeric mixture layers, with a crown reinforcement comprising two crossed layers of reinforcing elements and a simplified bead structure that reduces the number of layers and polymeric mixtures, optimizing angles and layer orientations to enhance endurance and reduce mass.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the number of layers in the crown reinforcement is increased to improve endurance, then the tire's durability under heavy loads improves, but the cooking time during vulcanization increases and manufacturing costs rise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the angle parameter of the reinforcing elements in the crown reinforcement layers. Specifically, it uses angles between 8° and 45° with the circumferential direction, where the absolute difference between angles of adjacent layers is greater than 4°. This parameter optimization allows the tire to achieve adequate endurance with fewer layers, thereby reducing cooking time during vulcanization while maintaining structural integrity under heavy loads.
2Reliability
If the number of layers in the crown reinforcement is increased to improve endurance, then the tire's durability under heavy loads improves, but manufacturing costs increase due to additional materials and processing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the angle parameters of reinforcing elements to achieve the required endurance performance with a reduced number of layers. By setting angles between 8° and 45° with absolute differences greater than 4° between adjacent layers, the design minimizes material consumption and simplifies the manufacturing process, thereby reducing overall manufacturing costs while maintaining tire durability.
3Productivity
If the tire structure is simplified by reducing the number of layers, then manufacturing costs and cooking time decrease, but the endurance under heavy loads and impact conditions may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent compensates for the reduced number of layers by optimizing the angle parameters of the remaining reinforcing elements. The specific angle range (8°-45°) and the requirement that absolute differences between adjacent layers exceed 4° ensure that the simplified structure still provides adequate endurance performance under heavy loads and impact conditions, while achieving faster production cycles.
4Weight of moving object
If the number of polymeric mixture layers is reduced to lighten the tire, then the tire mass decreases and rolling resistance improves, but the cooking time required to achieve proper vulcanization may be insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reduces the number of polymeric mixture layers to decrease tire mass and improve rolling resistance. The optimized angle parameters of the reinforcing elements (8°-45° with differences greater than 4° between layers) provide enhanced structural efficiency, allowing the thinner construction to achieve proper vulcanization in shorter cooking times while maintaining the necessary mechanical properties.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention concerns a heavy goods vehicle tyre, intended to be mounted on a hollow, 15° drop centre rim. According to the invention, the two working crown layers alone constitute the crown reinforcement over at least 40% of the width of the tread, the absolute value of the difference between the absolute values of the angles α2 and α1 being greater than 4°, α2 being greater than α1 in absolute value, the mean angle α satisfying the relationship 14+131*exp(-L/100) < α < 20+164*exp(-L/100), and, in meridian cross-section of said tyre, the turnup of the carcass reinforcement layer and the main part of the carcass reinforcement layer are coupled and then uncoupled, the turnup of the carcass reinforcement layer and the main part of the carcass reinforcement layer are the only layers of reinforcing elements of which the elongation at break is less than 6% present in the sidewall.