Tyre Testing

Understanding the performance of tyres is critical in determining their influence on the ride, handling & safety of cars, commercial vehicles & aeroplanes. Steering, acceleration & braking actions are transmitted to the road through the tyres in quite often adverse conditions. Ultimately they are the means by which a vehicle remains controllable & are the only point of contact with the ground.

Smithers Rapra recognises the importance & legislative demands for accurate tyre testing & assists businesses & individuals to understand tyre construction, material selection & lifetime expectations. Extensive physical testing is supported by compound development, analysis & a full failure analysis service.

In depth information is available from a wide range of publications & journals. Smithers Rapra has developed a range of courses & conferences applicable to people employed at a broad spectrum of levels in the tyre & related industries.

Laboratory Tyre Testing

Independent tyre testing has been conducted at Smithers Rapra for over 30 years & we are recognised as one of the leading independent test houses within Europe for these services.

As a Smithers Group Company, Smithers Rapra is able to utilise the services & expertise of Smithers Scientific Services based in Akron, USA. Their tyre testing facilities at Ravenna, Ohio is one of the world’s leading independent tyre test houses; The facility is equipped with 19 road wheels & 52 stations. Test equipment permits the simulation of load capacities of up to 40,000 lbs (175 k-N) & can accommodate tyres of up to 188 cm (74 inches) in diameter & tire widths of up to 76.2 cm (30 inches) at speeds of up to 150mph (240km/h)

The consultants & technologists have extensive experience in conducting in house or client designed bespoke testing schedules to aid product improvement & development. The customer devised tests could include over load, under inflation, destruction & long term product assessment.

Rolling Road Drum Testing

A rolling road drum test is an accelerated test procedure designed to exert stress on a tyres components & its structure. A common test is running the tyre on an angle; the corresponding sidewall distortion creates stresses in the tyre carcass that are not present in road use.

In the UK, Smithers Rapra undertakes tests in accordance with the following recognised standards.

• ECE Regulation 30: - New passenger tyres
• ECE Regulation 54: - New commercial tyres
• ECE Regulation 75: - Scooter / Motorcycle tyres
• ECE Regulation 108: - Retreaded passenger tyres
• ECE Regulation 109: - Retreaded commercial tyres
• MVEE 1000: - Solid Armoured vehicle wheels

All the ECE (Economic Commission for Europe) Regulation tests are UKAS accredited & approved by the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) for independent type approval testing.

For US accreditation, we are able to carry out the equivalent tests to the FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) 139, 109, 119 at our group facilities in Ravenna.

Flat Surface Tyre Dynamics

Test equipment can provide a wide range of tyre characterisation data from static & low speed scenarios. Tyre sizes range from small aircraft to passenger car & heavy goods vehicles. Tyres can be tested up to 10,000 lb as a function of load, slip angle, inclination angle & speed. Available data includes

• Stresses & motions in the tyre footprint
• Tyre forces & moments
• Lateral, longitudinal & vertical spring rates
• Custom items including force development with distance, rolled bead & rim pressures
• Tire road loads characterization used for tire comfort & durability models.

High Speed Force & Moment Testing

Tyres, up to a “V” speed rating can be tested across their performance range from urban to hi-speed motorway driving. Testing can be conducted up to 5,500 lbs as a function of load, slip angle, inclination angle, speed & driving/braking torque. Operation is computer controlled. Transient data can be obtained & provided. Data is used as inputs to vehicle models.

Rolling Resistance

Fuel prices & greater awareness about the role tyres can play in improving fuel economy has created renewed interest in rolling resistance evaluations. A tyres rolling resistance impacts on fuel economy through a combination of heat loss, aerodynamic drag & the friction between tyres & road surfaces. To assist in consistent evaluation, tests are conducted to industry standards including SAE J1269, SAE J2452, & ISO 8767:1992

Laboratory Tread Wear

The combination of increasingly sophisticated laboratory instrumentation & modeling software is enabling design & development engineers to be more accurate in the prediction of tread wear based on indoor testing in a laboratory environment. Data previously generated by either closed track or correlated route on-vehicle approaches can now be completed from indoor evaluation.

Laser Profilometry Testing

Increasing financial pressures to reduce development cycles & the ability to quickly generate data for modeling purposes is valuable. The Smithers group utilises a laser triangulation system that generates precise wear measurements & input for making tyre life predictions.

Utilised as a stand alone test or as part of a combination of tests using the Smithers tread wear machine it delivers fast & accurate non-destructive measurement of wear patterns & is ideal for generating data used in before-and-after tread wear comparisons.

Modeling

Tyre & vehicle manufacturers are experiencing increasing success with sophisticated modeling programs that correlate well to “in service” conditions. Continual advances are being made with an increasing portfolio of methods & Smithers has experience of working with client engineers to create models that suit individual specific requirements.

The extensive testing service within the Smithers Group includes;

• Cleated endurance testing
• Plunger energy
• Air retention
• Footprint
• Physical measurements
• Shearography
• Uniformity
• Load deflection curves
• Hydrostatic burst tests
• Individually designed client test programs

Vehicle Tyre Testing

Winter Test Center

The Smithers winter test facility is based in Northern Michigan & is particularly suited for testing & conducting performance evaluations under winter climate conditions. From the early 1970’s the Smithers Test Center in Raco, Michigan has been instrumental in providing crucial input about the performance of tyres, vehicles & their components in challenging & demanding climatic conditions.

The test facility is used for the testing of small passenger cars to light & heavy goods vehicles, construction & military equipment. Tyre testing is undertaken for original equipment suppliers & aftermarket tyres & components.

The Michigan site provides two key types of testing;

Vehicle handling evaluation

• Special testing surfaces that includes various snow & ice surfaces
• Slip coefficient surface pads of ice/concrete & ice/snow
• Alternating ice/asphalt checkerboard pads
• Varying degrees of ice/snow covered slopes.

Durability & component evaluation

• Tyre traction testing
• Tyre force & moment measurements on snow & ice

Warm Weather Proving Ground

Situated in Laredo Texas the warm weather proving ground is a joint venture between Smithers, Auto Testing & MB Tech. The facility is known as DRIVEtest LLC.

Facilities include

• 5-mile high-speed test track
• 65-foot hill climb
• 20% & 30% grades of inclination

Tyre Compound Evaluation

Smithers Rapra offers a range of independent advisory & evaluation services to optimise the selection process & performance of tyre compounds. Smithers Rapra has almost 90 years of experience in rubber compounding, with many examples of successful projects conducted on compound formulation for tyres.

Evaluation of New Materials – Smithers Rapra has a laboratory sized mixer which is often used for formulation development & compounding trials. New polymers, additives, curatives or fillers can be evaluated to quantify performance improvements, cost reduction activities, processing enhancements or provide independent test data for marketing purposes. The impact of REACH & elimination of PAH’s will necessitate formulation changes.

Tyre Construction – Smithers Rapra can provide details of the tyre construction through our group facilities in Akron. These include measurements to determine the dimensions, weights & volumes to provide a cross-section layout. Component composition analyses of the rubber & reinforcement type. The physical properties of the rubber compound, reinforcement & rubber-fibre adhesion can also be determined.

Compound Analysis – Smithers Rapra can determine the “make–up” of a tyre compound by breaking it down into its constituent parts. Deformulation will combine several techniques to build up a profile of the material base & additives, compiled data is then used in reformulation & engineering. This type of analysis is frequently undertaken in conjunction with Smithers Rapra technologists to improve compounds, materials & to provide failure analysis.

Information for the Tyre Industry

Looking for the latest Tyre Industry News?

The Smithers Group can provide a daily or weekly news digest informing you of the latest happenings in this competitive market, delivered directly to your inbox. Information found in The Smithers Report includes: Mergers & Acquisitions; Restructuring & Reorganisation; Plant Expansions; Industry Overview; Sales Forecasts; Manufacturing Developments; Financial Reports & Advertising & Marketing information. The Tyre Analysis Reports provide detailed technical information on the construction, footprint, materials types & properties of selected tyres.The Tyres Polymer Bulletin can provide an e-mail update every two weeks to ensure you have the latest technical developments summarised directly to your computer. Click on the summaries to find out details about purchasing the full-text articles. Further details are available via the bookstore at www.rapra.net

Do you want to read more about Rubber?

Smithers Rapra has a comprehensive bookstore dedicated to titles on all aspects of plastics, rubbers & polymer-based composite materials. Below are just some of the rubber-related titles we have to offer:

Rubber Compounding: Chemistry & Applications

An unparalleled information source for the industrial compounder & materials scientist, this one of a kind reference reviews the production, processing & characteristics of a wide range of materials utilised in the modern tyre industry.

How to Improve Rubber Compounds: 1,500 Experimental Ideas for Problem Solving

This book is dedicated to providing the reader with various experimental ideas which may guide him or her to developing better compounds & solving technical problems.

Rubber Technologist’s Handbook

Written by experts in their respective fields, this book provides a foundation in rubber technology & discusses the most recent developments in the subject.

Light Vehicle Tyres

A Smithers Rapra market report taking an overview of the latest technology combined with the market situation worldwide.

Tyre Recycling

A Smithers Rapra review report offering an expert overview on the topic of tyre recycling. Around 400 references with abstracts from recent global literature accompany this review.