Bridgestone testing airless heavy duty commercial tire
Tire manufacturer Bridgestone introduced an air-free commercial truck tire concept which would be utilized for higher speed and heavy load applications. The tire was on display during the Technology & Maintenance Council's Annual Meet and Expo in Atlanta.
The tire features a proprietary design where tread is placed on a unique structure of high-strength, flexible spokes with a reinforced webbing and reinforced tread band. This design eliminates the need for a tire to be filled and maintained with air.
Jon Kimpel, executive director, new mobility solution engineering, Bridgestone Americas, advised this commercial vehicle tire design originated from a non-pneumatic tire developed for a lighter load and lower speed applications. "We instrumented it. and then from there we could go in in using computer engineering tools to go in and actually figure out the material properties that we need [and] the right geometry to get to this point," Kimpel said. "We're going from lower speed lower load to much higher, to much higher load."
Material science and computer engineering tools have assisted with developing an airless tire that can withstand the load and not absorb energy, which translates into heat.
The air free tire will also be retreadable, Kimpel said. This addresses two key areas: sustainability and total cost of ownership for the tire.
Current development on the airless tire has focused on the trailer position. "About 20 percent of the tires purchased are in the trailer position, but ... when there's an emergency roadside situation, 40 percent of the time it's on the trailers," Kimpel said.
"We're going through the validation of the concept tire right now," Kimpel advised. After lab testing, the Bridgestone team plans to begin running the tire proving grounds testing later this year.
Kimpel shared this airless tire design helps to address both current maintenance challenges compared to traditional pneumatic tires, but will also look to provide a solution for future technology such as autonomous commercial trucks. But, there is still work to be done before that happens.
"One of the hurdles with this is actually on the regulatory side because there's vehicle safety standards for pneumatic tire, but not a non-pneumatic tire." Kimpel said. While this is a challenge today, Kimpel noted the development of new regulations for both autonomous vehicles and non-pneumatic tires will coincide since both look to address changing technology needs.
The advanced air free commercial truck tire concept from Bridgestone is also engineered for enhanced sustainability. The air free commercial tire solution is designed to be retreadable. Retreads help reduce natural resource consumption by replacing only the tire tread, rather than the entire tread and casing combination.
