Tire Tread Sipe Design for Wet Grip and Noise Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tires do not adequately address running noise while improving wet performance on wet road surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A tire design featuring three or more circumferential direction main grooves, first and second land portions with sipes that communicate with these grooves, and terminal grooves that enhance water drainage and compression rigidity, along with chamfered acute angle portions to reduce curling deformation and noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sipes are disposed on a tread to improve braking performance on wet road surfaces, then wet performance is improved, but running noise increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sipes are divided into multiple groups (first sipes, second sipes, third sipes) with different configurations and orientations. Each group is segmented to serve specific functions: first sipes with bend portions for water absorption, second sipes for water discharge, and third sipes for additional drainage. This segmentation allows the tire to achieve wet performance improvement while controlling running noise through varied sipe ground contact timing.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the tread are assigned different sipe characteristics. The first land portion has sipes with bend portions for water absorption, while the second land portion has sipes optimized for water discharge. Terminal grooves are strategically positioned at specific locations to enhance water drainage from particular areas. This local differentiation optimizes wet performance in each region while managing noise generation.
2Quantity of substance
If sipe volume is increased to improve water absorption on wet road surfaces, then water absorption amount increases, but compression rigidity uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sipe system is segmented into multiple functional groups distributed across different land portions. First sipes with bend portions provide water absorption capacity, while second sipes provide water discharge pathways. This segmentation distributes the water management function across multiple elements rather than relying on a single large sipe structure, maintaining compression rigidity uniformity while achieving sufficient water absorption.
Solution Approach 2:
The first sipes incorporate bend portions that extend in the tire circumferential direction, adding a dimensional element to the sipe structure. This bend portion increases the effective sipe volume and water absorption capacity without simply enlarging the sipe cross-section, thereby maintaining compression rigidity uniformity while improving water absorption amount.
3Reliability
If terminal grooves are provided to improve water drainage, then water drainage is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal grooves are merged with the existing sipe structures and land portions. The terminal grooves extend from the outer side toward the center of the land portion and communicate with circumferential main grooves, integrating water drainage functionality into the existing tread architecture rather than adding completely separate drainage structures. This merging approach improves water drainage while minimizing additional complexity.
4Stability of the object's composition
If acute angle portions are chamfered to suppress curling deformation, then structural stability is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Chamfering is applied selectively only to the acute angle portions of the land portions, rather than to the entire tread structure. This localized treatment targets specifically the areas prone to curling deformation while minimizing the overall manufacturing complexity and precision requirements. The chamfered portions provide structural stability without requiring high-precision machining across the entire tire.
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 improves wet performance and reduces running noise by promoting water discharge, uniformizing compression rigidity, and suppressing axial force variation and curling deformation.
Implementation Method 1
Because the first sipes provided in the first land portion have a bend portion, the sipe volume is greater than in sipes which do not have a bend portion, so that the water absorption amount of the first sipes on a wet road surface is greater
Implementation Method 2
Because both ends of the first sipes communicate respectively with the circumferential direction main grooves that partition the first land portion, water discharge from the first sipes into the respective circumferential direction main grooves is promoted
Data Source
AI summary
A tire has three or more circumferential direction main grooves, a first land portion and a second land portion that are partitioned by the circumferential direction main grooves, first sipes that are provided in the first land portion, and that have a bend portion protruding in the tire circumferential direction, and whose two ends communicate respectively with the circumferential direction main grooves, second sipes that are provided in the second land portion on a virtual extension of the first sipes, and whose two ends communicate respectively with the circumferential direction main grooves, and first terminal grooves that are provided in the first land portion between first sipes, that are positioned on an outer side in a tire width direction of the first land portion and communicate with the circumferential direction main grooves, and that terminate at a position further to the outer side in the tire width direction than a position in the tire width direction of a distal end of the bend portion, wherein angle portions on an acute angle side relative to the tire circumferential direction of the first land portion facing the first sipes are chamfered.