Monday, August 16, 2010

Smart Materials and Tires

Vehicle electronic systems are growing and improving as every new model is launched. Much new technology has already been incorporated into the tire and vehicle
performance characteristics (antilock braking systems, traction control, pressure warning systems and even surface friction sensors, etc.). The properties of tire
materials and in particular those in the contact patch area, determine much about the vehicle handling and safety characteristics. If the data from the contact patch
can be fed back to the vehicle electronics, the tire will then play an even greater role in determining or even controlling vehicle performance.

The Continental tire company have demonstrated a Sidewall Torsion Sensor concept in which alternately polarised strips of ferromagnetic powder are orientated within the tire sidewall, such that they can be used to detect tire shape changes occurring during operation. Information is processed by on board computers to indicate pressure loss, steering anomalies, slip and wear, thus providing feedback to shorten braking
distances and improve driver control on poor roads.

Electrostatically charged tread surfaces have been suggested to improve snow grip. Here the attractive forces between oppositely charged particles are exploited to increase the grip between the tire surface and ice.

Nanocomposites are just beginning to find a foothold in tire compound developments and it is perhaps this field which may show the most promise for smart tires and materials in the future. Carbon black manufacturers are exploring the novel possibility of plasma surface modifications to black particles in an SBR matrix.

Each of these new and exciting fields will offer future compounders the chance to revolutionise not only compound properties, but also the opportunity to develop
an integrated response system for the whole vehicle.

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