Pneumatic Tire Tread Segmentation for Wear and Rolling Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tire designs face a trade-off between reducing rolling resistance and maintaining wear resistance, as methods to decrease rolling resistance often compromise on wear resistance performance.
Innovation Solution
The tire design involves meticulously regulating the tire shape, particularly the reinforcing structures and outer surface, to suppress shear deformation in the widthwise direction, achieving a balance between low rolling resistance and improved wear resistance by optimizing ratios and dimensions such as BD/BW, CSWh/CSH, SWh/SH, BW/CSW, and other geometric parameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If rubber for the tread portion is replaced with rubber having relatively small loss tangent to reduce rolling resistance, then rolling resistance is decreased, but wear resistance performance is sacrificed
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the tread portion into multiple regions (center tread region and shoulder tread region) with different rubber compositions. The center region uses rubber with small loss tangent for low rolling resistance, while the shoulder region uses rubber with high wear resistance, resolving the contradiction between rolling resistance and wear resistance through spatial segmentation of material properties.
Solution Approach 2:
Different rubber compositions are assigned to different local regions of the tread. The shoulder region specifically uses rubber with high wear resistance properties to address wear issues, while the center region maintains low loss tangent rubber for rolling resistance reduction, implementing local quality optimization to satisfy different performance requirements in different areas.
2Loss of energy
If thickness of the tread portion is decreased to reduce rubber as a source of generating rolling resistance, then rolling resistance is reduced, but wear-resisting period cannot be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies different rubber compositions to different regions rather than uniformly decreasing tread thickness. The shoulder region uses rubber with high wear resistance properties, allowing the tread to maintain sufficient thickness and wear-resisting period in the wear-prone shoulder area while still reducing overall rolling resistance through optimized composition distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses composite rubber materials with different properties in different regions. The tread portion comprises multiple rubber compositions with distinct characteristics (low loss tangent vs. high wear resistance), creating a composite structure that simultaneously addresses both rolling resistance and wear resistance requirements without compromising tread thickness.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional tire designs are used, then manufacturing is simpler, but rolling resistance and wear resistance cannot be optimized simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the tread portion into multiple regions with different rubber compositions, which can be implemented using conventional tire manufacturing techniques such as multi-layer tread construction or regional compounding. This segmentation approach allows performance optimization without requiring fundamentally new manufacturing processes, maintaining ease of manufacture while achieving superior rolling and wear resistance.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a pneumatic tire having a carcass as a skeleton extending in a toroidal shape over a pair of bead portions, a belt including at least one slant layer, and a tread, the belt and the tread being disposed on the outer side in the tire radial direction of a crown portion of the carcass in this order, characterized in that: a ratio BD/BW of radius difference BD between radius at the center portion and radius at an end portion in the tire widthwise direction of the outermost layer of the slant belt layer(s), to a width BW of the outermost layer, is in the range of 0.01 to 0.04 in a section of the tire in the widthwise direction in a state where the tire is assembled with an application rim. A pneumatic tire being excellent in wear resistance performance and having relatively low rolling resistance can be obtained accordingly.