Tire Semi-Open Sipes for Wet Stability Trade-off
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tires face a trade-off between steering stability and wet performance, as full-open sipes improve wet traction but decrease crown land region rigidity, compromising steering stability.
Innovation Solution
A tire design featuring semi-open sipes in the crown land regions, inclined in the same direction, with specific dimensions and orientations to maintain rigidity while enhancing wet performance, including varying sipe lengths and orientations to balance traction and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If full-open sipes are used to improve wet performance, then wet traction is improved, but crown land region rigidity decreases and steering stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sipes are segmented into semi-open configurations that do not completely traverse the crown land region, instead terminating at intermediate positions. This segmentation maintains rigidity in specific zones while preserving water evacuation channels, resolving the contradiction between wet performance and steering stability
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the crown land are assigned different sipe configurations - semi-open sipes in specific zones to maintain rigidity while providing water evacuation, creating local variations in structural properties to simultaneously achieve both wet performance and steering stability
2Reliability
If sipes are added to increase frictional force on wet road surfaces, then wet performance is improved, but rigidity of the crown land region decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using complete through-sipes, the invention employs partial sipes that extend only partway through the crown land region. This partial action provides sufficient water evacuation capability for wet performance while leaving the remaining structure intact to maintain necessary rigidity
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 achieves excellent steering stability while maintaining wet performance by maintaining crown land region rigidity and effectively guiding water on a wet road surface.
Implementation Method 1
The sipes increase frictional force against a wet road surface by edges thereof
Data Source
AI summary
A tire comprises a tread portion 2. The tread portion 2 comprises two crown land regions 6 and two shoulder land regions 7 divided by a crown main groove 3 and a pair of shoulder main grooves 4 and 5 arranged one by one on each side of the crown main groove 3. Each of the two crown land regions 6 is provided with a plurality of sipes 15 each having a width less than 1.5 mm. The sipes 15 of each of the two crown land regions 6 include only semi-open sipes 18 each having one end connected with one of the main grooves and the other end terminating within the land region. The sipes 15 of the two crown land regions 6 are inclined in a same direction with respect to a tire axial direction.