Development direction of rubber tire structure I
After more than a hundred years of changes in the structure of automobile tires, the general development trend can be summarized into three points: meridianization, no tuberization and flattening. These trends are in line with today’s development requirements for high-speed driving, fuel saving, safety and stability, and are therefore welcomed by car owners, automobile manufacturers and national environmental protection departments.
(1) radial tire
Radial tires are the mainstream trend in the world of tire structure in the past 60 years. The meridian structure originated in continental Europe, and the French Michelin company was an active advocate in this regard. It was adopted by European countries and dominated the European automobile market in the 1970s.
At first, although the American tire industry knew the superiority of the radial tires, considering that the original equipment and molds had to be replaced due to the change of structure, the investment was too large and still wanted to be shackled, and the skew structure was continued, and the hope was compromised. Solution – belt oblique structure. But in the end, in the face of the facts, the US tire industry has to change course. As far as the world is concerned, radial tires already have an absolute advantage.
The carcass cord of the radial tire is arranged at an angle of 90° to the centerline of the tire or at an angle of approximately 90°. The carcass is bound by a layer of an endless belt, which is named after the arrangement of the meridian of the earth. When the tire is running, the internal pressure exerts 50% less stress on the cord than the bias tire, so the number of cord layers can be reduced by half, and material savings can be achieved.
The belt layer serves to ensure that the tire has the required outer dimensions and is subjected to stress and rolling impact caused by internal pressure. Moreover, due to the small stretch of the belt layer and the high rigidity, the wear resistance, puncture resistance and ground grip of the tire are greatly improved. Another advantage of the meridional structure is that it can significantly reduce rolling resistance and save fuel consumption.