AN
OVERVIEW
OF TYRE
TESTING
Copyright 2002 by HASETRI - All rights reserved HASETRI
TYRE TESTING FALLS INTO TWO
PERFORMANCE CATEGORIES
1. MECHANICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
TYRE
•LOAD DEFLECTION OF VERTICALLY LOADED MOUNTED
TIRE, LOAD-
CARRYING CAPACITY, AND LOAD RATING.
•STEERING PROPERTIES SUCH AS ALIGNING TORQUE,
CORNERING
CHARACTERISTICS, AND TIRE LATERAL AND TANGENTIAL
STIFFNESS.
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TYRE TESTING FALLS INTO TWO
PERFORMANCE CATEGORIES
•TRACTION AND WET SKID PERFORMANCE.
•ROLLING RESISTANCE, WHICH AFFECTS VEHICLE FUEL
ECONOMY.
2. DURABILITY
•RIDE CHARACTERISTICS (VIBRATION AND NOISE)
• TREAD WEAR, WHICH ENCOMPASSES SLOW WEAR RATES,
FAST
WEAR RATE, AND UNIFORMITY OF WEAR.
• CASING FATIGUE RESISTANCE.
• TIRE HEAT BUILDUP UNDER LOADED DYNAMIC
CONDITIONS.
• CHIPPING, CUTTING AND TEARING RESISTANCE OF THE
TREAD
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AND SIDE WALL.
TYRE TESTING FALLS INTO THREE
PHASES
• TYRE LABORATORY TESTING.
• PROVING GROUNDS
• COMMERCIAL EVALUATION.
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LABORATORY TESTING
(A) DESTRUCTIVE TESTING
1) CUT TYRE ANALYSIS:
CUT TYRE SECTION IS TAKEN AND PARAMETERS LIKE :
• PLY TURN UP HEIGHTS AND STEP OFFS,
• FLIPPER AND CHAFFER HEIGHTS
• CURED PLY AND BREAKER EPI, ETC. ARE MEASURED.
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LABORATORY
TESTING
2) ADHESION STRENGTH OR STRIP ADHESION:
3) TENSILE PROPERTIES OF CURED CORDS.
4) PULLEY WHEEL TEST:
A) STEP LOAD TEST :
• IT IS IMPORTANT TO MEASURE THE INFLATION PRESSURE
AND THE TREAD TEMPERATURE IMMEDIATELY STOPPING THE
TYRE.
B) STEP SPEED TEST
5) PLUNGER TEST:
• TO MEASURE PASSENGER CAR TYRE CARCASS STRENGTH
(OR) TO
RATE RESISTANCE TO PUNCTURE THROUGH THE TREAD.
6) BEAD AREA ENDURANCE TEST.
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LABORATORY TESTING
(B) NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING
1) X-RAY TESTING:
IT IS MAINLY IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY / DETECT THE FOLLOWING :
• TYRE COMPONENTS LIKE BELTS AND BEADS WERE PROPERLY
PLACED.
• PLY TURN UP ENDS WERE IN THE RIGHT PLACES.
• SPLICES WERE NOT TOO HEAVY OR CORRECTLY SPACED.
• CARCASS AND BELT CORDS AND BEAD WIRES EVENLY
POSITIONED.
• THERE WERE NO MISSING COMPONENTS AND FOREIGN
OBJECTS.
• POROSITY OR BLOWING DUE TO UNDERCURE OF THE TYRE AND
TRAPPED AIR.
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LABORATORY TESTING
2) OPTICAL METHOD (HOLOGRAPHY)
•IN THIS TECHNIQUE A LASER BEAM IS USED TO STUDY
THE IRREGULARITIES IN INTERNAL CONSTRUCTION AND
IDENTIFIES INCIPIENT FAILURES.
•HOLOGRAPHY HAS BEEN COMBINED WITH ULTRASONICS
IN A NEW TECHNIQUE CALLED HOLOSONICS.
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LABORATORY TESTING
3) INFRA-RED TESTING
•USEFUL IN NON-CONTACT TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENTS.
•INFRA-RED CAN BE USED AS PASSIVE METHOD OF TYRE
INSPECTION BY THE HEATING THE TYRE ON ONE SIDE AND
THEN USING AN INFRA-RED DETECTOR ON THE OTHERSIDE TO
MEASURE THE HEATFLUX PASSING THROUGH THE TYRE.
•AN ANOMOLY, SUCH AS SEPARATION WILL IMPEDE THE FLOW
OF HEAT AND THUS BE DETECTABLE AS A COOL SPOT.
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TYRE UNIFORMITY TESTING
“TYRE UNIFORMITY IS THE DEGREE OF PERFECTION
OF THE FINISHED TYRE WITH RESPECT TO FORCE,
DIMENSION AND BALANCE”
THE VARIATIONS IN THE FORCES AND MOMENTS AT
THE GROUND AS THE TYRE ROLLS DUE TO TYRE /
WHEEL ASSEMBLY NON-UNIFORMITIES SUCH AS,
FORCE VARIATIONS (RADIAL, LATERAL AND LONGITUDINAL)
.
• DIMENSIONAL VARIATIONS (RADIAL AND LATERAL RUN-
OUTS).
• MASS IMBALANCE.
TRANSMITTED TO THE AXLE OF THE VEHICLE AND ACT
AS EXCITATION SOURCE FOR RIDE VIBRATIONS.
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FORCE VARIATIONS
A) RADIAL FORCE VARIATIONS
RADIAL FORCE VARIATIONS OCCURS AS A RESULT OF RADIAL
RUNOUT, CIRCUMFERENTIAL STIFFNESS VARIATIONS OR
VARYING MASS DISTRIBUTION.
THE VARIOUS HARMONICS OF RADIAL NON-UNIFORMITIES IN
A TYRE / WHEEL ASSEMBLY ARE FUNCTIONALLY EQUIVALENT
TO IMPERFECTIONS IN THE TYRE SHAPE LIKE, ECCENTRICITY,
ELLIPTICAL (OVALITY), TRIANGULAR, SQUARE, ETC.
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FORCE VARIATIONS
ECCENTRICITY:
THE TYRES, WHEELS AND HUB INDIVIDUALLY MAY EXHIBIT RADIAL
ECCENTRICITY, RESULTING IN A FIRST HARMONIC NON-UNIFORMITY
WHICH PRODUCES BOTH RADIAL AND TRACTIVE EXCITATION ON THE
AXLE. SINCE, THERE IS A ONE HIGH POINT AND ONE LOW POINT ON
THE ASSEMBLY, THE EXCITATION OCCURS AT THE ROTATIONAL SPEED
OF THE WHEEL (10 - 15 Hz AT NORMAL HIGHWAY SPEEDS). HIGH AND
LOW POINTS OF DIFFERENT PARTS ARE MATCHED IN THE ASSEMBLY
TO MINIMISE FIRST HARMONIC NON-UNIFORMITIES OF THE ASSEMBLY.
MEASUREMENT OF LOADED-RADIAL RUNOUT ARE ALSO VALID AND
CAN BE TRANSFORMED TO RADIAL FORCE VARIATION BY SIMPLY
MULTIPLYING BY THE RADIAL SPRING RATE OF THE TYRE.
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FORCES: RADIAL, LATERAL &
TANGENTIAL
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DIRECTION OF FORCES ACTING ON A
TYRE
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TYRE : LOCKED WITH A ROATING
DRUM
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TYRE : RADIAL FORCE VARIATIONS
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TYRE : VARIATION OF LOAD
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TYRE : LATERAL & CONICITY FORCE
VARIATION
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FORCE VARIATIONS
B) LATERAL FORCE VARIATIONS
LATERAL FORCE VARIATIONS MAY ARISE FROM NON-
UNIFORMITIES IN THE TYRE, BUT CANNOT BE READILY RELATED
TO LATERAL RUNOUT EFFECTS IN THE WHEEL OR HUB
COMPONENTS.
THE AVERAGE VALUE OF THE LATERAL FORCE VARIATION CAN BE
DIVIDED INTO TWO FACTORS, CONICITY AND PLY STEER.
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FORCE VARIATIONS
CONICITY
CONICITY DERIVES FROM SMALL SIDE-TO-SIDE DIFFERENCES IN
THE TYRE SUCH AS AN ASYMMETRICAL OFFSET IN THE
POSITIONING OF THE BELT.
THE EFFECT OF CONICITY IS TO CREATE A PULL IN THE STEERING
SYSTEM, OR A “DRIFT” IN THE TRACKING OF THE CAR. PULL
REFERS TO A CONDITION WHERE THE DRIVER MUST APPLY A
CONTINUOUS TORQUE TO THE STEERING WHEEL HOLDING IT
OFF-CENTRE TO MAINTAIN THE VEHICLE ON A STRAIGHT PATH,
OR WITH THE WHEEL FREE AND IN THE CENTRE POSITION, THE
VEHICLE WILL FOLLOW A CURVED PATH.
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FORCE VARIATIONS
PLY STEER
PLY STEER, ARISES FROM THE ANGLE OF THE CORDS IN THE BELT
LAYERS. TO AVOID THIS BIAS IN THE TYRE’S PREFERRED ROLLING
DIRECTION, BELTS ARE CONSTRUCTED WITH ALTERNATING BELT
LAYERS AT OPPOSITE ANGLES, BUT A PERFECT BALANCE IS
IMPOSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE. THUS A FREE ROLLING TYRE WILL EXHIBIT
A TENDENCY TO DRIFT FROM ITS DIRECTION OF HEADING.
PLY STEER IS LIKELY TO ACT ON ALL WHEELS IN THE SAME
DIRECTION, A VEHICLE MAY EXHIBIT A SLIGHT DRIFT DUE TO PLY
STEER FORCES. THIS MAY REQUIRE SOME STEERING WHEEL OFFSET
TO COMPENSATE AND KEEP THE VEHICLE TRAVELLING STRAIGHT,
NO STEERING PULL IS LIKELY.
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TYRE : LATERAL FORCE VARIATION
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TYRE : DISTRIBUTION OF CONICITY & PLY
STEER
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FORCE VARIATIONS
C) TRACTIVE FORCE VARIATIONS
TRACTIVE FORCE VARIATIONS ARISE FROM DIMENSIONAL
AND STIFFNESS NON-UNIFORMITIES. ITS MAGNITUDE WILL
BE DEPENDENT ON THE LOAD CARRIED AND THE AMOUNT
OF ECCENTRICITY, HOWEVER, IT IS INDEPENDENT OF
SPEED.
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DIMENSIONAL VARIATIONS
A) RADIAL RUN-OUT
IT IS THE VARIATION OF THE TYRE RADIUS MEASURED IN A
PLANE PERPENDICULAR TO THE SPIN AXIS ON A TRUE
RUNNING WHEEL.
B) LATERAL RUN-OUT
IT IS THE VARIATION IN POSITION MEASURED PARALLEL TO
THE SPIN AXIS AT THE POINT OF MAXIMUM TYRE
SECTIONAL WIDTH ON A TRUE RUNNING WHEEL.
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DIMENSIONAL
VARIATIONS
THE TYRE BEING AN ELASTIC BODY ANALOGOUS TO AN
ARRAY OF RADIAL SPRINGS, MAY EXHIBIT VARIATIONS IN
STIFFNESS ABOUT ITS CIRCUMFERENCE DUE TO RADIAL
AND LATERAL RUNOUTS. VARIATIONS IN STIFFNESS
CAUSES RIDE VIBRATIONS.
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MASS IMBALANCE
MASS IMBALANCE DERIVES FROM UNEVEN DISTRIBUTION OF
MASS ABOUT ITS AXIS OF ROTATION. THIS COULD BE CAUSED
IN A TYRE THROUGH OFF-CENTERED COMPONENTS, HEAVY
SPLICES, LONGER OR STRETCHED COMPONENTS LIKE TREAD,
SIDE WALL, ETC. WHEN THE TYRE ROTATES, THIS EXTRA MASS
EXERTS A CENTRIFUGAL FORCE. SINCE TYRE ROTATES
AROUND FIXED AXIS, THIS FORCE (INDUCED THROUGH A
HEAVY SPOT) TRIES TO MOVE AWAY AS WELL AS ALIGN WITH
THE AXIS OF ROTATION, THUS AN UNEVEN ROTATION AROUND
THE AXIS IS CAUSED.
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DIMENSIONAL NON-UNIFORMITY : RUN OUT
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TYRE: RADIAL RUN OUT MEASUREMENT
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TYRE: PLY STEER FORCES
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TYRE : EFFECT OF SHORT TREAD LENGTH
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TYRE : DIFFERENT FORCE DEFINITIONS
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TYRE : DIFFERENT FORCE VARIATIONS
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TYRE : EFFECT OF PLY STEER
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TYRE : EFFECT OF CONICITY FORCE
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TYRE MANUFACTURING PROCESS
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TYRE ASSEMBLY : RADIAL & LATERAL RUN
OUT
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Correlation of Tyre Uniformity with cord
characteristics
Tyre uniformity is measured in terms of the radial
force variation around the circumference of a
rotating tyre in contact with a test wheel.
Fundamentally, one is measuring the modulus of
the tyre section in contact with the test drum.
The body cords can adversely affect the tyre
uniformity in several ways;
• Variable cord properties
• Variable cord spacing
• Large spilice width
• Poor cord dimensional stability
• Tyre building / curing uniformity
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PROVING GROUNDS
THE MOST DEFINITIVE METHOD OF DETERMINING THE
BEHAVIOR OF A TYRE IS TO EXAMINE ITS PERFORMANCE
WHEN SUBJECTED TO ROAD TESTING.
RIDE COMFORT TESTS
VEHICLE RIDE COMFORT TESTS ARE CONDUCTED ON A
VARIETY OF TEST SURFACES FOR DETERMINING
CHARACTERISTICS LIKE :-
- VEHICLE VIBRATION
- NOISE
- HARSHNESS
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PROVING GROUNDS
ARE EVALUATED IN THE VEHICLE INTERIOR. THESE
EVALUATIONS ARE MADE EITHER SUBJECTIVELY (BY
HUMAN FEEL) OR OBJECTIVELY (BY ON-BOARD
INSTRUMENTATION), E.G. HUMAN RESPONSE
VIBRATION METER.
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TRACTION PERFORMANCE TESTS
TRACTION (AND BRAKING) CHARACTERISTICS OF A TYRE ARE
EVALUATED EITHER SUBJECTIVELY ( WHEREBY THE DRIVER
RATES EACH TYRE) OR OBJECTIVELY ( BY INSTRUMENTED
MEASUREMENT OF THE FORCES RESISTING TYRE SLIPPAGE
AND THE SPEED OR ACCELERATION AT WHICH TRACTION IS
LOST).
TRACTION TESTS MAY BE PERFORMED
- ON DRY ROADS FOR DRY TRACTION
- ON WET ROADS TO DETERMINE THE SKID PERFORMANCE
AND WET
TRACTION AT SPECIFIC WATER DEPTHS.
- ON SNOW COVERED ROADS FOR SNOW TRACTION, ETC.
INSTRUMENTS USED: CORRSYS - CORREVIT SENSORS, ‘g’ ANALYST,
ETC.
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FUEL EFFICIENCY TEST
THIS TEST IS CARRIED OUT FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF
THE FUEL CONSUMPTION OF THE VEHICLE FITTED WITH A
PARTICULAR TYPE OF TYRES. THIS TEST ALSO PROVIDES
FAIRLY GOOD IDEA ABOUT RR OF TYRES.
FLUIDYNE INSTRUMENT (MADE IN U.S.A) IS USED TO
MEASURE THE FUEL CONSUMPTION..
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HANDLING TESTS
• HANDLING TESTS ARE CARRIED MAINLY TO
CHARACTERISE
THE RESPONSIVENESS OF A VEHICLE TO DRIVER
INPUT.
• VEHICLE HANDLING TESTS MAY BE CONDUCTED ON
EITHER
DRY OR WET ROADS TO EVALUATE A GIVEN SET OF
TYRES.
COMMON TESTS FOR HANDLING:
• STEERING RESPONSE CHARACTERISTICS.
• CORNERING CHARACTERISTICS, ETC.
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HANDLING TESTS
AS A MEASURE OF THE HANDLING PERFORMANCE OF
TYRES, THE FORCES AND MOMENTS GENERATED IN THE
TYRE’S FOOTPRINT UNDER DIFFERENT OPERATING
CONDITIONS ARE MEASURED USING “FORCE AND
MOMENT” TRANSDUCERS. THE FORCES AND MOMENTS
GENERATED AT DIFFERENT SLIP AND CAMBER ANGLES,
AS THE TYRE ROLLS, ARE RELATED TO VEHICLE
PERFORMANCE IN VARIOUS MODES OF MANEUVERING
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HANDLING TESTS
STEERING CHARACTERISTICS ARE DETERMINED USING
TORQUE / ANGLE TRANSDUCER WHICH GIVES VALUE OF
TORQUE APPLIED TO GET REQUIRED STEERING
PERFORMANCE WHEN TESTED ON THE STEERING PAD
ON A CIRCLE OF CERTAIN RADII.
HIGHER THE TORQUE MEANS POOR THE STEERING
RESPONSE AND WILL CAUSE MORE STRAIN ON THE
SHOULDERS OF THE DRIVER.
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TREAD WEAR
MOSTLY WEAR TESTS ARE CONDUCTED ON A ROAD BUT
RECENTLY ATTEMPTS ARE BEING MADE TO A CONDUCTED
SIMULATED FULL-SCALE TESTS IN LABORATORY TO STUDY
WEAR NATURE.
THE RATE OF WEAR IS MEASURED BY MONITORING THE
CHANGE IN NON-SKID DEPTH WITH DISTANCE.
THE FOOTPRINT SHAPE AND THE PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION
ARE IMPORTANT PARAMETERS AFFECTING WEAR NATURE.
CIRCUMFERENTIAL TREAD WEAR IMAGING SYSTEM (CTWIST)
IS EMERGING AS A FAST, AUTOMATED AND TRULY
STANDARDISED TREAD WEAR MEASUREMENT SYSTEM WHICH
PROVIDES COMPLETE WEAR PROFILE OF A TYRE AND
QUANTIFICATION OF IRREGULAR WEAR THROUGH NON-
CONTACT TECHNIQUE.
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COMMERCIAL EVALUATION
(FLEET TESTING)
FOR MOST TYRES FLEET TESTING IS USED FOR VALIDATION
PURPOSE, WHERE A PREDEFINED QUANTITY OF TYRES WILL
BE PLACED WITH A COMMERCIALLY FLEET AND THEIR
PERFORMANCE WILL BE MONITORED CONTINUOUSLY.
DATA COLLECTED FROM SUCH TESTS INCLUDE TREAD WEAR,
UNIFORMITY OF WEAR, CASING DURABILITY, AND DRIVER
ASSESSMENT PERTAINING TO RIDE AND HANDLING.
CUSTOMER INPUT IS ONE OF THE KEY PARAMETERS IN SUCH
STUDIES.
TYRES ARE COMMERCIALLY RELEASED AFTER SUCCESSFUL
COMPLETION OF SUCH VALIDATION TEST.
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