Pneumatic Tyre Tread Block Curvature for Noise and Water Management
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Pneumatic vehicle tires with profiled tread strips experience increased noise emission due to the stiffening of profile block element edges caused by crowned cross-sectional areas, which also affect water displacement and ground contact pressure.
Innovation Solution
Designing a pneumatic vehicle tire with radially raised profile block elements separated by grooves, featuring a convexly curved contour in cross-sectional planes perpendicular to the tire axis and a concavely curved contour in the same planes, reducing the rigidity of the impacting edges and enhancing water displacement and ground contact pressure distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the profile block elements have a crowned cross-sectional area with convexly curved contour, then water displacement is improved and ground contact pressure is more even, but the profile block element edges are stiffened and noise emission increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tread profile features localized quality variations: the crown area has convex curvature for water displacement, while the edge areas have concave curvature to reduce stiffness. This spatial differentiation of structural properties allows simultaneous optimization of water evacuation and noise reduction without compromising either function.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs dual curvature geometry: convex curvature in the crown region for effective water displacement and concave curvature at the edges for flexibility and noise reduction. This sophisticated use of curved surfaces enables the tread profile to achieve multiple performance objectives through geometric design alone.
2Strength
If the profile block element edges are stiffened for structural integrity, then ground contact stability is improved, but noise generated during edge impact with road surface increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tread block exhibits localized structural differentiation: the crown maintains sufficient stiffness for structural integrity, while the edges incorporate concave curvature to reduce stiffness specifically at impact zones. This allows the structure to be strong where needed and flexible where it contacts the road.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of making the entire profile block stiff for structural integrity, the invention inverts the approach by strategically placing flexible concave edges at the noise-generating impact zones while maintaining structural strength in the crown area. This inverted logic of stiffness distribution effectively reduces noise without compromising overall structural integrity.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The tire has a tire tread with radially raised profile block elements (2) separated from each other by a transverse groove (3) and peripheral grooves (4, 5). The block elements are outwardly limited in a radial direction (R) by a radial outer surface (10) that forms a floor contact surface of the block elements. A convexly curved contour of the outer surface is formed in a transverse plane of the block elements provided with a tire axis, and a concavely curved contour of the outer surface is formed in another transverse plane of the block elements formed vertical to a tire axle.