Tire types

Diagonal (bias) tyres

Still used today in some application for trucks, trailers and farm implements as well as in
emerging markets, bias tires have body ply cords that are laid at angles substantially less than
90 to the tread centreline, extending from bead to bead (see Figure).
Advantages:
Simple construction and ease of manufacture.
Disadvantages:
As the tier deflects, shear occurs between body plies which generate heat. Tread motion also
results in poor wear characteristics.

Belted bias tyres

Belted bias tires, as the name implies, are bias tires with belts (also known as breaker plies)
added in the tread region. Belts restrict expansion of the body carcass in the circumferential
direction, strengthening and stabilizing the tread region (see Figure).
Advantages:
Improved wear and handling due to added stiffness in the tread area.
Disadvantages:
Body ply shear during deflection generates heat; higher material and manufacturing cost.

Radial tyres
Radial tyres have body ply cords that are laid radially from bead to bead, nominally at the 90
to the centreline of the tread. Two or more belts are laid diagonally in the tread region to add
strength and stability. Variations of this tire construction are used in modern passenger
vehicle tyre (see Figure).
Advantages:
Radial body cords deflect more easily under load, thus they generate less heat, give lower
rolling resistance and better high-speed performance. Increased tread stiffness from the belt
significantly improves wear and handling.
Disadvantages:
Complex construction increases material and manufacturing costs.

The tyre construction has been shown in Fig. with the various components used. The
explanation of each of the component has been given below;
1. Tread
2. Cap
3. Base
4. Under tread
5. Belts
6. Shoulder
7. Belt edge inserts
8. Sidewall
9. Inner liner
10. Casing ply
11. Soft bead filler
12. Hard bead filler
13. Chafer
14. Bead bundle

Tread
Tread is the part which comes into contact with the road surface. It protects the carcass and
provide high grip, durability, longer life and manoeuvrability. Tread is made up of elastomers.

Cap
Tread cap grips road, wears slowly for high traction and long tread life.

Under tread
Under tread acts as an additional protection for belts, to improve retreat ability.

Belts
Belts hold the tread flat for superior traction and wear, and protects carcass from road hazards
and foreign matter. They restrict expansion of the body ply cords, stabilize the tread area and
provide impact resistance. Varying the belt widths and belt angles affects vehicle ride and
handling characteristics. It also give lateral and longitudinal stiffness to the tread.

Shoulder
Shoulder joins the tread stock from sidewall stock while protecting tread base from exposure.
It also protects carcass from external shocks and damages.

Belt edge insert

Belt edge insert maintains optimum belt shape for long casing life and protects the under
tread from belt abrasion.

Tire Manufacturing
Pneumatic tires are manufactured according to relatively standardized process and machinery,
in around 455 tire factories in the world. With over 1 billion tyres manufactured worldwide
annually, the tyre industry is the major consumer of natural rubber. Tyre factories start with
bulk raw materials such as rubber, carbon black and chemical and produce numerous
specialized components that are assembled and cured.
The tyre is an assembly of numerous components that are built up on a drum and then cured I
a press under heat and pressure. Heat facilitates a polymerization reaction that crosslinks
rubber monomers to create long elastic molecules. These polymers create the elastic quality
that permits the tyre to be compressed in the area where the tyre contacts the road surface and
spring back to its original shape under high-frequency cycles.
Tyre plants are traditionally divided into various departments that perform special operations.
These usually act as independent factories within a factory. Large tire makers may set up
independent factories on a single site, or cluster the factories locally across a region. The
various departments in a tire industry are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Compounding & Mixing

Component preparation
Tyre building
Curing
Inspection

Compounding & Mixing

The two major ingredients in a rubber compound are the rubber itself and the filler, combined
in such a way as to achieve different objectives. In general, there are four major rubbers used,
natural, styrene-butadiene rubber(SBR), polybutadiene rubber (BR)and butyl rubber. The
most popular fillers are carbon black and silica, and there are several types of each. The
selection depends on the performance requirements as they are different for the tread,
sidewall and apex.
Once the compound is determined, the next challenge is how to mix it all together. The
mixing operation is typically a batch operation, with each batch producing more than 200 KG
of rubber compound is less than three to five minutes. The mixer is a sophisticated piece of
heavy equipment with a mixing chamber that has rotors inside. Its main function is to
breakdown the rubber bale, fillers and chemical and mix them with other ingredients.

Component preparation
In extrusion, the compound is pushed through a die, after which the extruded profile is
vulcanised in a continuous oven, cooled to terminate the vulcanization process, and either
rolled up on a spool or cut to length. Extrusion is also used for sidewall profiles and inner
liners.

Tyre building
Tyre building is the process of assembling all the components onto a tire building drum.
Typical TBM operations include the first-stage operation, where inner liner, body plies and

sidewalls are wrapped around the drum, the beads are placed, and the assembly turned up
over the bead. In the second stage operation the belt package and tread are applied and the
green tyre is inflated and shaped.
All components require splicing. Inner liner and body plies are soliced with a square-ended
overlap. Tread and sidewall are joined with a skived splice, where the joining ends are bevel-