Pneumatic Tire Center Sipe Angles for Wet Traction and Wear
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Solution Overview
Problem
Heavy-duty pneumatic tires face challenges in achieving balanced heal-and-toe wear resistance and traction performance, with existing designs often compromising block rigidity and wear resistance on wet road surfaces.
Innovation Solution
The tire features circumferential main grooves in the inner half of the tread width, shoulder lug grooves that divide shoulder land portions, and center lug grooves that divide the center land portion into block portions, along with center sipes having specific angle configurations to enhance drainage and edge effects, improving traction and wear resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If lug grooves extending in the tire lateral direction are provided to improve traction performance on wet road surfaces, then traction performance is improved, but block rigidity in the tire circumferential direction is degraded and heal-and-toe wear resistance performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the tread surface into multiple functional zones with different groove configurations. The circumferential main grooves are disposed only in the inner half of the tread width, while the outer half features shoulder lug grooves at specific angles. This segmentation allows different regions to serve different functions: the inner region provides structural support and wear resistance, while the outer region provides drainage and traction on wet surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
Different groove patterns and orientations are applied to different locations of the tread surface. The circumferential main grooves in the inner half provide stability and wear resistance, while the shoulder lug grooves in the outer half are optimized for water evacuation and wet traction. This local optimization resolves the contradiction by allowing each region to have properties suited to its specific functional requirements.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If the number of sipes in each block is three or more and sipe depth varies along the tire circumferential direction, then wear resistance is improved, but block rigidity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The sipe configuration varies by location within the block structure. Multiple sipes are provided in blocks located in regions requiring enhanced wear resistance, while the sipe depth is modulated along the tire circumferential direction with shallower sipes at end portions and deeper sipes in the middle. This local variation optimizes wear resistance where needed while preserving block rigidity in critical load-bearing areas.
Data Source
AI summary
A pneumatic tire includes two circumferential main grooves disposed in an inner half of a tread developed width in a tire lateral direction; shoulder lug grooves that divide shoulder land portions into shoulder block portions and that each include a see-through portion in the tire lateral direction; center lug grooves dividing a center land portion into a plurality of center block portions; and center sipes having both ends terminated in the center block portions. The center sipe includes at least two sipe portions having different angles via at least one bent portion. An angle θ1 of at least one sipe portion with respect to a tire equator line satisfies 0°≤θ1≤15°, and an angle θ2 of at least the other sipe portion with respect to the tire equator line satisfies 35°≤θ2≤60°.