A new generation of "green" automobile tyres that can boost fuel efficiency without sacrificing safety and durability is rolling their way through the research pipeline. The new tyres could help add an extra mile or two per gallon to a car's fuel economy. That's the topic of the cover story of the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News, (C&EN) ACS' weekly newsmagazine.
C&EN Senior Editor Alexander Tullo explains that rolling resistance – the friction that tyres encounter when rolling – are a major factor in a vehicle's fuel economy. It can determine up to 20 per cent of fuel economy. Overcoming it accounts for 4 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels.
For years, tyre makers and their raw material suppliers have been eyeing lower rolling resistance as a way to boost fuel economy and promote a cleaner environment. But they have been thwarted by a principle in the tyre world called the "magic triangle of tyre technology." It holds that an improvement to rolling resistance has to come at the expense of wet-road grip and durability.
That barrier is now falling, thanks to the development of new materials, including new forms of silica and nanomaterials. These new materials include a nanogel that improves abrasion resistance, grip and rolling resistance of tyres as well as a newly-developed resin that helps tyres retain air longer. But there's a catch: Motorists still will have to keep tyres properly inflated to take full advantage of the new technology, the article notes.
