Continental aims to further advance the reduction of tire wear – recently the research project OLRAP ('Online Analysis of airborne tire wear particles in their formation and delineation from particles of other origins') has reached its conclusion.
OLRAP-Projekt
In this framework, together with the Technical University of Braunschweig, an analysis method for tire wear was developed, in which a specially adapted vacuum cleaner behind a driven wheel as well as specialized particle sensors are to detect even the finest airborne particles behind the wheels and at other positions on the vehicle.
The insights gained are to be fed directly into Continental's tire development and enable further optimizations.
„The data on the quantity, size and structure of the particles enable an even more targeted optimization of tire designs and rubber compounds – without compromises in safety and performance“, says Dr. Matthias Haufe, head of material development and industrialization of Continental's tire division.
This would also prepare the products for specific regulations such as the Euro-7 standard, which, according
to Haufe, will set limit values for tire wear in the EU for the first time from 2028.
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The OLRAP project was funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture and was intended to provide insights into the nature of tire wear.
A specially equipped measurement vehicle was used, designed for tests in real driving conditions. It was equipped, for example, with a special vacuum cleaner behind a driven wheel to collect the particles that arose.
This should allow conclusions about the origin of the particles and provide an answer as to whether they were, for example, produced by tires, by the road surface, or also by the brakes.
Sensoren
Particle measurement devices developed by Braunschweig University of Technology were installed at various points on the vehicle, including directly behind the wheels, and were intended to collect detailed time-stamped data. And these were then related to factors such as driving dynamics, road surface, and weather conditions.
A multisampler device was also
used, designed to relate samples to specific events of a measurement drive. Thus, in the laboratory, particle samples could be compared that were taken, for example, only in curves or only during straight driving.
„The highly complex experimental setup with simultaneous measurements at different points of our test vehicle yielded enormous amounts of data. These help us understand tire wear increasingly better,” explained Dr. Benjamin Oelze, head of the development of testing procedures for tire wear at Continental.
According to Oelze, clear correlations between particle concentration and speed profile could be identified, and insights obtained into the extent to which high longitudinal and lateral accelerations influence tire wear.
The results could now also serve to steer traffic flows in a more environmentally friendly way or to minimize emissions by optimizing preset driving profiles of automobile models.
Forschungsprojekte
The tire manufacturer has, according to its own statements, been addressing the topic of tire wear in various research projects for several years and, for example, serves as co-chair of
the Tire Industry Project (TIP).The initiative's goal is among other things to study the environmental impact of tires throughout their life cycle.
In addition, Continental was involved in the RAU project ('Tire wear in the environment'), an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. A filtration system was developed that is supposed to remove up to 97 percent of solids from rainwater road runoff.
Reifendesign
According to the manufacturer, a certain amount of tire wear cannot be completely avoided if safety-relevant properties of the tire, such as wet braking performance, are not to suffer significant losses. Continental points to studies indicating that individual driving behavior and road conditions influence wear up to three times more than tire design.
However, these factors are hardly controllable for tire manufacturers — and that is why the focus is on tire design. For example, the EcoContact 6 tire line delivers 30 percent less wear per kilometer and at the same time offers 20 percent more mileage than its predecessor.
