English Abstract

Recent Trends of Tires

Mina AOYAMA
Bridgestone Corporation, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Nippon Gomu Kyokaishi,(2022),95(3),80-87 General Review in Japanese

  Tires perform vital functions that keep drivers safe and comfortable on a contact patch about the size of the palm of a hand. Keeping proper tire inflation and maintaining safe tread depth are extremely essential to prevent tire failure and to reduce down-time of operation related to the tires.
  Recently tires are having a new function as an interface to connect between human, vehicles and various information of transportation in addition to the conventional ones. Drivers can grasp real-time information of tires through Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and also developed is another technology that can classify road conditions in actual time by using accelerometer attached inside tires. This is an example to use tires as a kind of sensors to catch outer circumstances.
  Rolling resistance of tire has been continuously improved for many years, and reducing CO2 emission through whole life cycle of tires is also an important subject for mobility to be more sustainable.
  The solution technology surrounding tires such as mine and aviation were already deployed to optimize total tire maintenance and operation.
  Furthermore, some recent technologies in line with gCASEh trends that tire manufacturers may face are also discussed in this review.

Keywords: Tire, Rolling Resistance, TPMS, Run-flat, CASE, LCA, Labeling