Wide-Base Tire Rib Segmentation for Wear and Crack Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wide-base pneumatic tires with rib-based tread patterns experience uneven wear and are prone to cracks and fractures due to increased rib width and nonuniform tire contact pressure, leading to reduced durability and reliability.
Innovation Solution
A pneumatic tire design featuring five main grooves and six rows of ribs with optimized rib widths and sipe configurations, including first and second narrow grooves and sipes, to alleviate rib rigidity and distribute tire contact pressure uniformly, along with a circumferential reinforcing layer for enhanced hoop effect and uniform pressure distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the rib width is increased in wide-base pneumatic tires, then the structural strength is improved, but the rib rigidity increases causing railway wear and uneven wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides each rib into multiple segments by forming narrow grooves (first narrow grooves and second narrow grooves) that extend in different directions. This segmentation reduces the continuous rigidity of wide ribs while maintaining overall structural strength, preventing railway wear and uneven wear by allowing controlled flexibility in the rib structure.
2Strength
If the rib width is increased in wide-base pneumatic tires, then the structural strength is improved, but cracks and fractures form in the ribs due to nonuniform tire contact pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The rib structure is segmented by narrow grooves that create multiple independent zones within each rib. This segmentation allows the rib to flex and distribute nonuniform contact pressures more evenly, preventing stress concentration that would lead to cracks and fractures while maintaining the overall structural integrity of the wide rib.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces local variations in rib structure by forming narrow grooves at specific locations and orientations. These local modifications create zones of varying flexibility within the rib, allowing the rib to adapt to nonuniform contact pressures in different areas while maintaining overall structural strength.
3Reliability
If sipes are formed in the edge portions of ribs, then frictional energy is released improving uneven wear resistance, but the rib rigidity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent forms sipes (first sipes) in the edge portions of ribs, which segment the rib structure locally at the edges. This segmentation releases frictional energy during operation, improving uneven wear resistance, while the main body of the rib maintains sufficient rigidity through the optimized narrow groove configuration that connects main grooves without过度 reducing overall stiffness.
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 design significantly improves uneven wear resistance, cracking resistance, and fracturing resistance by releasing frictional energy through sipes, maintaining rib rigidity, and ensuring uniform tire contact pressure, resulting in extended tire lifespan and reduced risk of rib damage.
Implementation Method 1
frictional energy generated in each edge portion of each rib can be released via the first sipes
Implementation Method 2
the plurality of first narrow grooves extending in the tire width direction is formed in each of the center ribs and the intermediate ribs so as to form a connection between the main grooves, and the plurality of second narrow grooves extending in the tire circumferential direction is formed so as to connect neighboring first narrow grooves. Thereby, the rigidity of the center ribs and the intermediate ribs can be alleviated.
Data Source
AI summary
This pneumatic tire comprises a tread portion, sidewall portions, and bead portions, wherein the tread portion includes five main grooves extending in the tire circumferential direction that partition six rows of ribs, a plurality of first sipes is formed in each edge portion of center ribs, intermediate ribs, and shoulder ribs, a plurality of first narrow grooves is formed in each of the center ribs and the intermediate ribs so as to form a connection between the main grooves, a plurality of second narrow grooves is formed in each of the center ribs and the intermediate ribs so as to connect the first narrow grooves, an interval Pg1 of the first narrow groove is from 20 mm to 60 mm, and an interval Ps1 of the first sipe is from 15% to 45% of the interval Pg1 of the first narrow groove.