Zigzag Tread Sipes With Tie Bars for Crack-Resistant Tire Blocks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Sipes in tire blocks tend to collapse under load, concentrating strain at the bottom and leading to potential cracks, compromising the durability of the sipe bottom.
Innovation Solution
The tire design incorporates zigzag-shaped sipes with tie bars at different axial positions, enhancing the rigidity of the blocks and preventing collapse, while maintaining on-ice performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sipes are formed in the tread block to improve on-ice performance, then on-ice performance is improved, but the block segment tends to collapse under load and strain concentrates at the sipe bottom leading to cracks
Solution Approach 1:
The sipe bottom is designed with a curved shape instead of a straight configuration. This curvature distributes the strain more evenly across the sipe bottom, preventing stress concentration at specific points and reducing the likelihood of crack formation under load while maintaining the sipe's on-ice performance benefits
Solution Approach 2:
The sipe structure is designed with varying properties along its length - the sipe sides have different characteristics from the sipe bottom. The sipe sides are configured to provide cutting edges for on-ice performance, while the sipe bottom is specifically designed with curvature and appropriate thickness to handle load-bearing requirements and prevent collapse
Data Source
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AI summary
A tire comprises a tread portion 2 provided with blocks 11 including a first block 13 provided with a plurality of sipes 15. Each sipe 15 comprises a zigzag portion in a cross section perpendicular to the sipe length direction, and a zigzag portion in a cross section parallel to the ground contacting top surface of the first block 13. Each of the sipes 15 is provided with at least one tie bar 18 protruding radially outwardly from the bottom 15d of the sipe and terminating without reaching the ground contacting top surface. The sipes 15 includes a first sipe 31 having the tie bar 18 at a first position in the tire axial direction, and a second sipe 32 having the tie bar 18 at a second position in the tire axial direction different from the first position.