Tyre Tread Sipe Geometry for Wet Grip as Grooves Wear Down
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle tires face a conflict between maintaining wet grip and reducing wear and rolling resistance, particularly towards the end of their life when groove volume decreases, leading to deteriorated wet grip performance.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle tire design featuring lamellae arrangements with sipes that have radially inner sections with widenings, allowing additional voids to form as the tire wears, thereby maintaining wet grip by absorbing water even as the circumferential grooves narrow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the groove volume of circumferential grooves and lateral grooves is reduced to meet wear and rolling resistance requirements, then wear resistance and rolling resistance are improved, but wet grip performance deteriorates, especially towards the end of the tire's life
Solution Approach 1:
The sipe structure is divided into multiple sections along the radial direction: a first sipe section extending from the tread surface to a first depth, and a second sipe section extending from the first depth to a second depth (greater than the first depth). This segmentation creates different functional zones that can serve different purposes at different wear stages, allowing the tire to maintain wet grip performance even as the overall groove volume is reduced.
Solution Approach 2:
The second sipe section is pre-configured at a greater depth than the first sipe section, creating a reservoir of void volume that is not immediately accessible but becomes available as the tire wears. This preliminary preparation ensures that when the tread wears down and circumferential groove volume decreases, additional void space is already in place to maintain water absorption capacity and wet grip performance.
2Reliability
If void-generating grooves are increased to improve wet-weather performance, then wet grip is improved, but wear and rolling resistance worsen
Solution Approach 1:
Different sections of the sipe structure have different qualities and functions. The first sipe section (shallower depth) provides immediate void volume for wet grip, while the second sipe section (greater depth) provides additional void volume that becomes accessible during tire wear. This local differentiation allows the tire to optimize wet grip performance without compromising wear resistance, as the deeper sections do not immediately increase rolling resistance but provide future water absorption capacity.
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 ensures consistent wet grip performance throughout the tire's life by creating additional cavities when the tire wears, compensating for reduced groove volume and improving water absorption, thus enhancing wet-weather performance.
Implementation Method 1
The sipes serve to create or provide additional space within the tire to absorb water
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a vehicle tire with a tread having an incorporated profile with circumferential grooves, wherein several sipe arrangements (7) are arranged between the circumferential grooves, wherein each sipe arrangement (7) has three incisions (8), wherein each incision (8) has a narrowed section (10b) extending radially over a second incision depth, and a radially inner section (10c) extending radially over a third incision depth and closing off the respective incision (8) radially inwards, wherein a third incision width of the radially inner section (10c) changes over the third incision depth such that a widening is formed within the respective incision (8).According to the invention, the third cutting depth of the radially inner section (10c) is at least 50% of the total depth of the respective cutting (8), and the third cutting width at at least one vertex within the radially inner section (10c) assumes a maximum value of at least 5mm, preferably at least 6mm.