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Tribology Online: Technology For Reducing Tire Rolling Resistance
Tribology Online: Technology For Reducing Tire Rolling Resistance
Tribology Online ISSN 1881‐2198
DOI 10.2474/trol.12.99
Japanese Society of Tribologists
http://www.tribology.jp/trol/
Review
Technology for Reducing Tire Rolling Resistance
Keizo Akutagawa*
Bridgestone Corporation, 3‐1‐1 Ogawahigashi‐cho, Kodaira, Tokyo 187‐8531, Japan
*Corresponding author: Keizo Akutagawa (keizo.akutagawa@bridgestone.com)
Manuscript received 24 March 2017; accepted 30 May 2017; published 31 July 2017
(Reprinted from Journal of Japanese Society of Tribologists, 61, 2, 2016, 104‐108)
Abstract
Reducing automobile tire rolling resistance is an effective measure for achieving fuel cost savings and reducing CO2 emissions, which
contributes to global warming. In this report, mechanisms to represent tire rolling resistance and the methods to control it will be
explained.
Keywords
tire, rolling resistance, wet grip, fuel efficient tire, rubber, viscoelasticity, tomography
Copyright © 2017 Japanese Society of Tribologists
This article is distributed under the terms of the latest version of CC BY‐NC‐ND defined by the Creative Commons Attribution License. 99
Keizo Akutagawa
Fig. 1 Tire labeling system [1]
Tires with a rolling resistance rating of “A” or higher and wet
grip performance higher than “D” are defined as fuel‐efficient
tires [4].
3 Tire rolling resistance
3.1 Mechanism
The causes of tire rolling resistance can be represented by
three factors as shown in Fig. 2. The energy loss due to tire
deformation ○ 1 is the most dominant contributing factor at more
than 90% [5]. The tire has a round shape, but the contact patch
between the tire and the road produces a flat patch owing to it
being compressed against the road surface. The rubber deforms
Fig. 3 Energy loss in each part calculated by the
significantly at the location where the round shape changes into a
finite element method [7]
flat patch. This shape change causes deformation of the rubber
and the rubber generates heat, when the automobile is in motion.
parts. It is therefore reasonable to consider that reducing the
The energy loss occurs in the form of heat generation, which
energy loss of the tread rubber is the most effective tool for
dissipates the kinetic energy of the automobile, thereby
reducing tire rolling resistance. However, lowering the energy
decelerating the automobile. This is considered to be the main
loss of the tread rubber often leads to deterioration in road grip
cause of tire rolling resistance [6].
performance. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a methodology
3.2 Tire materials to optimize the two factors.
Approximately half by weight of the materials used for the The friction property of the tread rubber is of significant
manufacture of tires are polymer‐based materials. Approximately importance for tire road grip performance during braking,
one quarter of the materials are filler products with the remaining driving, and cornering. The ability to achieve a balance between
quarter comprising rubber chemicals, reinforcing fiber, and steel the braking performance on a wet road and rolling resistance is of
cord. The polymers used for tire compounds are generally a significant commercial advantage in the competition among
combination of natural rubber and synthetic rubber. Natural various tire manufacturers. The energy loss of rubber is generally
rubber is frequently used for tire casings that require durability, measured using a viscoelastic analyzer and is subsequently
and synthetic rubber is used for tread materials owing to its evaluated by using the tangent value of the phase difference δ of
superior friction properties, which provide tire grip on a road the dynamic stress to the dynamic strain of the sinusoidal wave.
surface. The process of tire production consists of a raw material As the mechanical properties of rubber reflect elasticity and
mixing and extruding stage to achieve the desired compound, an viscosity simultaneously with applied deformation, a phase
assembly stage for the production of sheet rubber formed into a difference δ is generated owing to the contribution of the viscous
ring shape, and a curing stage for setting the rubber compound in component in its mechanical response. As the viscous component
a heated mold for vulcanization. Approximately three quarters of dissipates stored energy, it is therefore used as an index of energy
a tire is a rubbery material (a mixture of polymer, filler, and loss due to deformation. In addition, the plots of dynamic
chemicals) called “compound.” The performance of the response (stress) against deformation (strain) results in the loop
compound significantly affects the road performance of the tire. shape shown in Fig. 4.
Figure 3 shows the contribution of energy loss from each part of The tire compound of the top tread is designed using a chart
the tire to its rolling resistance [7]. Depending on the type of tire, obtained empirically (Fig. 5). Figure 5 shows the relationship
these ratios change, but the contribution to rolling resistance of between tan δ and tire performance, superimposed for each
the tread is greater than the other parts. This is because the temperature range. In fact, the dry grip performance of the tire
weight ratio of the tread rubber is greater than that of the other increases with an increasing tan δ value from 30 to 50°C, and the
wet grip performance increases with an increasing tan δ value
from 0 to 10°C. However, I would expect that the rolling
resistance would decrease as tan δ decreases. It should also be
noted that the rolling resistance decreases as tan δ decreases at
approximately 60°C [6].
Tire grip performance is represented by a deformation
phenomenon in which the rubber grips onto the roughness of the
road surface so that it becomes a high‐speed, high‐frequency
deformation. In particular, as it is more likely to slide on a wet
road surface, it becomes more important to understand the micro
Fig. 2 Three factors of tire rolling resistance [6] roughness (the pitch of the roughness is in the order of a few μm)
of the road surface. For example, supposing that the sliding
Japanese Society of Tribologists (http://www.tribology.jp/) Tribology Online, Vol. 12, No. 3 (2017) / 100
Technology for Reducing Tire Rolling Resistance
velocity on the ground contact surface is 1 m/s, the deformation Fig. 7 Narrow width, large diameter tire concept [8]
frequency for a 1‐μm pitch of micro roughness can be calculated
by dividing the former by the latter, which is 106 Hz. It should
also be considered that the tire rolling resistance depends on the narrowing the width of the tire can reduce the energy loss due to
frequency of tire rotation. This frequency depends on the the rubber volume effect (Fig. 8). However, as the contact patch
deformation rate of the tire before and after the formation of the becomes smaller, the road‐handling characteristics of the
contact patch, which is related to the tire rotation speed. The automobile start to deteriorate. Therefore, it is also necessary to
deformation of tire rubber on a wet road surface is of a higher develop complementary technologies to offset other
frequency than that of its rolling resistance. When the tire performances deficits such as explained above compound
temperature superposition theorem is applied to the frequency technology.
dependence of performances the friction on wet surfaces is It should be noted that to use tires with a combination of a
affected by tan δ in a low temperature range, and rolling narrow widths and large diameters, the development of
resistance is affected in a high temperature range (Fig. 6). For specialized vehicles is required. It is therefore important to
example, when stretching chewing gum slowly, it is soft, but understand and discuss the associated advantages and
when it is pulled quickly, it behaves like a stiff material. However, disadvantages with automobile manufacturers. This could be
as rubber friction is affected not only by the temperature of the achieved by the organization of collaborative research and
road surface but also the road surface condition, it should be discussion s across the automobile industry. With regard to
analyzed comprehensively and should include the other relevant method (2), research focused on compounding and its analysis
physical properties. are carried out extensively. In recent years, a molecular design
technique of compounding with filled rubbers has become the
industry standard. In the use of these methods, tire energy loss
4 Methods for reducing tire rolling resistance
Methods for reducing tire rolling resistance include the
following;
(1) a tire structure design that discourages the deformation of
the tire tread rubber.
(2) reducing energy loss due to deformation of the tread
rubber.
With regard to method (1) a technique has been proposed that
aims to suppress tire deformation in a planar manner, which
involves contact with the road surface by increasing the diameter
and internal pressure of the tire [8]. This is because as the ratio of
the round‐shaped portion to the flat portion of the contact patch Fig. 8 Reduction of strain concentration demonstrated
increases, the deformation adjacent to the ground surface by nanoscale finite element method [9]
becomes smaller as it approaches a round shape. Furthermore,
Japanese Society of Tribologists (http://www.tribology.jp/) Tribology Online, Vol. 12, No. 3 (2017) / 101
Keizo Akutagawa
can be reduced by improving the dispersion of silica and carbon processing technology using a calculation technique to obtain an
black fillers in the rubber compound. Figure 8 shows the results optimized structure and manufacture it.
demonstrating energy loss reduction by improving the dispersion
of fillers using the nanoscale finite element method [9]. 5 Conclusion
In Fig. 8, the black elements indicate the filler, and the rest
indicates a cross‐linked rubber. It shows the nanoscopic strain In the future, it is thought that the number of automobiles on
distribution under a macroscopic tensile strain of 15%. The filler the roads in emerging economies will continue to increase, and it
dispersion in the left figure is non‐uniform and agglomerated, should be noted that the reducing tire rolling resistance would
and the most deformed portion shows a large strain become increasingly important. From the viewpoint of tribology,
concentration of 200% or more. Although this is deformed to a not only reducing automobile tire rolling resistance but also
strain of only 15% in the macro state, it is considered that large reducing the friction of other automobile mechanical components
deformation in the nanoscopic state is ten times greater than that could be the focus of future development. The cooperation of
in the macro state, resulting in a large energy loss [9]. However, it engineers working in the various automobile industrial fields is
can be seen that the filler shown in the right figure is ideally of significant importance when aiming to reduce the friction
dispersed; the strain‐concentrated portion reduces, and energy generated in other components of automobiles. Efforts in this
loss is reduced significantly. A recent technique for improving area of research should focus on further reducing fuel running
filler dispersion involves using a modified polymer having a costs of automobile ownership and reducing associated CO2
functional group at the end of the polymer chain, which strongly emissions.
interacts with the filler surface. This prevents filler aggregation
and improves filler dispersion. Using this technique, a tire with References
reduced rolling resistance using has been developed. Figure 9
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Organization (NEDO) program [10]. This program successfully [6] Akutagawa, K. and Kadota, K., “Tire in Future,” Automotive
proposed polymer / compound design technology and Engineering, 67, 4, 2012, 15‐20 (in Japanese).
[7] Automotive Engineering Handbook Editing Committee, “Automotive
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[8] Kuwayama, I., Matsumoto, H. and Heguri, H., “Experimental and
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[9] Akutagawa, K., Yamaguchi, K., Yamamoto, A., Heguri, H., Jinnai, H.
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[10] NEDO, Research and Development of Nanotech / Advanced Member
Fig. 9 Three‐dimensional visualization of filler dispersion for Practical Application, “Elastomer with Three‐Dimensional
by electron tomography Nano‐Scale Hierarchical Structure Optimized for Super Fuel Efficient
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