Tires

Today tire is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel’s rim. We use tires to provide transfer of vehicle’s load from the axle through the wheel to the ground. The second main purpose of the tire is to give traction on the surface traveled over.

The first tires were simply bands of metal fitted around wooden wheels to prevent wear and tear, and then rubber was developed. Early rubber tires were solid (not pneumatic). Pneumatic tires are used on many types of vehicles, including cars, bicycles, motorcycles, buses, trucks, heavy equipment, and aircraft. Metal tires are still used on locomotives and railcars. Various non-automotive applications, such as some casters, carts, lawnmowers, and wheelbarrows use solid rubber or other polymer tires.

There are about 450 factories that manufacture pneumatic tires Tire production starts with bulk raw materials such as rubber (60% -70% synthetic), carbon black, and chemicals and produces numerous specialized components that are assembled and cured. Many kinds of rubber are used, the most common being styrene-butadiene copolymer. Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear, Continental, and Pirelli are the top manufacturing companies by revenue.

The tires we use today for automobiles and bicycles are pneumatically inflated structures. When the tire rolls over rough features on the surface it also provides a flexible cushion that absorbs shock. Tires provide a footprint that is designed to match the weight of the vehicle with the bearing strength of the surface that it rolls over by providing a bearing pressure that will not deform the surface excessively. Natural rubber, fabric and wire, synthetic rubber along with carbon black and other chemical compounds are the main materials of today’s pneumatic tire. They consist of a tread and a body. The tread provides traction while the body provides containment for a quantity of compressed air.

There are two aspects to how pneumatic tires support the rim of the wheel on which they are mounted. The first aspect is the tension in the cords, which pulls on the bead uniformly around the wheel, except where it is reduced above the contact patch. Transfer of the net force to the rim through the bead is the second aspect

The cords that make up the ply and the elastomer which encases them are the two groups of materials of which modern pneumatic tires consists The cords, which form the ply and bead and provide the tensile strength necessary to contain the inflation pressure, can be composed of steel, natural fibers such as cotton or silk, or synthetic fibers such as nylon or kevlar. Composed of steel, natural fibers such as cotton or silk, or synthetic fibers such as nylon or Kevlar, the cords form the ply and bead and provide the tensile strength necessary to contain the inflation pressure The elastomer, which forms the tread and encases the cords to protect them from abrasion and hold them in place, is a key component of pneumatic tire design. It can be composed of various composites of rubber material – the most common being styrene-butadiene copolymer – with other chemical compounds such as silica and carbon black. To reduce fuel consumption in the transportation sector the rolling resistance in the elastomer material optimization is a key challenge.