ABSTRACT
Tires were originally designed by tire engineers and draftsmen who painstakingly created a blueprint for a tread pattern from which a prototype tire was made. That tire was then tested on a track. Tire designs that performed well were then manufactured. If it did not perform well, that design went back to the drawing board. Today, tire designs are created on very elaborate computer systems using what is called finite element analysis. Finite element analysis consists of a computer model of a material or design, or combination of both, that can then be stressed and analyzed for specific results. In other words, the computer is able to provide accurate predictions of the tire’s qualities and performance under a variety of conditions. Using this computer, the tire engineer can make modifications, each time seeing instantly how that modification might improve the design. Figure 5.1 depicts part of a tire design during the design and development stages. Once the design is completed, tire prototypes are produced, and although they are still track tested, the use of this sophisticated design technology now permits manufacturers to produce tires and tread designs whose performance far exceeds that of the tires of prior years.
