Abstract:

Introduction

The history of the wheel is as old as the human race itself and goes back all the way to the Bronze age (5000BC) (1). The first vehicles with wheels were recorded around 4000 BC; four-wheel wagons with front axles for steering were recorded in 1500 BC. However, it was not until 1839 the use of rubberized wheels was made possible due to the discovery of vulcanization by Charles Goodyear. In 1845, R W Thomson, a British engineer developed and patented the concept of the pneumatic tire (2); and then in 1888 Irish veterinarian J Dunlop built an acceptable textile reinforced pneumatic tire. The tread was first introduced in 1905 as a flat surface and the tire with effective non-skid tread design was introduced as all weather tread in 1908 (3). The introduction of the impermeable inner liner eliminated the need for the inner tube and in 1954 tubeless tires were adapted for Original Equipment. A major breakthrough in tire technology came in 1948 through commercialization of radial tires (4, 5). The radial tire provides superior ride, handling, traction, wear, and durability performance. The pneumatic tires of today have been developed into a very sophisticated product with amazing performance. Recent innovations in tire technology include Goodyear TripleTred, Michelin Tweel concept, Bridgestone Ecology Focused Tire Design, and run flat tire concept. Another break-through innovation has been use of silica as filler to provide better fuel efficiency and wet traction, and make tires greener.

Tire Design
The tire is the most complex man-made composite structure forming the outer part of the wheel of cars, trucks, bicycles, airplanes etc. serving to absorb shock, provide traction, load carrying capacity, transmit driving and braking torque, and be durable throughout the expected lifespan. A Tire consists of a large number of components designed to serve a specific function with maximum effectiveness and at the same time provide synergism to produce desired performance. Because of the complex geometry, heterogeneous and anisotropic material characteristics, and complex load distribution of a tire, prediction of the engineering structural properties and performance of such a structure is essential in the face of ever-increasing demands from consumer for smooth noise free ride, good handling, and longevity. Advances in high performance computing power have made modeling the key tire design development tool utilized by almost all tire companies around the globe. Tire modeling is based on very commonly used methods of Finite Element Analysis. Companies use commercially available software or have developed their own customized codes for modeling and analysis. Numerical analysis of tires is extremely difficult and parallel computing is highly desirable and is becoming a key component in the tire Finite Element Analysis.

Drivers & Trends for Future Vehicle Transport (6, 7)
Social, economic and environmental factors continue to be challenging drivers for the vehicle transport system of the future and are critical for sustainable mobility and growth. Social issues relate to demographic changes, changing lifestyle, safety and security issues. Economics covers the cost of ownership of vehicle as well as its operation and maintenance. Global warming, carbon di-oxide, and green house gas emissions are the greatest threat to the environment and its impact on society, especially in the developing countries where automotive growth is much higher than the rest of the world, must be addressed. Regulations such as noise control, fuel economy, and emissions control are the biggest challenges for the automotive industry. It is expected that future technologies for material, alternative fuels, manufacturing, and infrastructure will assist in overcoming social, economic and environmental challenges.
The tire industry is well positioned to respond to these drivers and trends as well as future vehicle systems. The industry in general is focusing on developing tires that provide ultra light weight and rolling resistance; improved noise, vibration and handling characteristics; intelligent tires so that it can communicate with smart vehicles of the future; safety and longevity including, traction on wet, snow and ice conditions as well as run-on-flat performance; flexibility in tire design and sizes to accommodate the proliferation of vehicles of different dimensions; and highly flexible and energy efficient manufacturing. The emerging technologies that are becoming domains of change include nano-materials, bio-inspired materials, natural materials, intelligent systems, and information technology including high performance computing, and highly flexible manufacturing. These emerging technologies are highly sophisticated and complex, so much so, that it is almost impossible for one organization to gain knowledge and expertise in all these domains of change; neither it is very prudent. It is imperative that global networks for research and development will evolve to assist in meeting the challenging issues of the future and there will be much more “Open R&D/Innovation” practiced by the industry.

Reference
1. F.J. Kovac, “Tire Technology”, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Akron, Ohio, 1978.
2. W.E. Burton, “The Story of Tire Beads and Tires”, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, NY, 1954.
3. “The Story of the Tire”, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio, 1955.
4. J. Massoubre, “Summary of 35 Years of Radial Tire”, International Rubber Conference, Paris, June, 1982.
5. M. O’Reilly, “The Goodyear Story”, The Benjamin Company, Inc., Elmsford, New York, 1983.
6. “Foresight Vehicle Technology Roadmap - Technology and Research Directions for Future Road Vehicles”, ver 2.0, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Ltd., London, 2004.
7. “Mobility 2030: Meeting the Challenges to Sustainability”, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 2004.

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Biography:

External Science & Technology Programs
Prior to his current position, Surendra was the Director of Corporate Research. His responsibilities included providing technical knowledge, know-how, and services necessary for developing superior products and processes to meet corporate business goals. The technology portfolios include Materials Science, Tire Physics, Computational Mechanics & Modeling, and Information Technology. The nature of work ranged from basic research to application development for product performance prediction and improvement, and included extensive partnership with external technology centers.
He is one of the co-founders of the Goodyear Institute of Technology (GIT) – the educational forum for tire related technologies at Goodyear. Surendra has held a position of Adjunct Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Akron since 1985.
Surendra holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Chicago, a M.S. in Industrial & Systems Engineering also from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Chicago, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from India.
Dr Surendra Chawla has been with The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company for 34 years in various roles and responsibilities in Research &Development. In 2008, he was appointed to the newly created position of Senior Director of External Science & Technology Programs. In this role, he is responsible for creating and adapting Open Innovation opportunities for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.