One should never underestimate the role of tyres in a vehicle. Tyres have always been an overlooked component of a vehicle with people concentrating more on the look of the vehicle and power of the engine. Tyres are the only source of contact between your vehicle and the road. A right tyre will always guarantee a safe and comfortable drive. To understand a tyre in a better way, let’s take a look at the structure of the tyre.
The primary material that is used in the tyres is rubber. There are certain tyres in which near 200 different types of raw materials are used in combination with rubber. Creating a rubber compound is similar to cake mixing recipe. Various compounds having specific attributes is are mixed to produce a rubber compound. The tread compound on the outer portion is responsible for mileage and traction, while rubber in the inner portion of the tyre provides stability to the tread area by adhering to the belt system to avoid fatigue and provide more and more strength to them.
Component of a tyre
Tyre manufacturers choose the material based on its technology. Every component of tyre is designed in such a way that it offers several benefits related to its functioning.
The components of the tyre get assembled just like a puzzle. The components are moulded using the curing process. This process leads to the tyre components along with rubber components adhering to components surrounding them for the creation of a solitary process. The main functionality of the belt system is to offer stability to the tread area of the tyre. This causes improvement in traction and handling. The cornering abilities are enhanced by many folds tyre’s sidewall and belt system work in unison.
Tyre casing: It is the body of the tyre that is inclusive of components such as inner liner, body ply, bead, and sidewall. To sum it up it consists of everything except tread and the belt system.
Body Ply: The majority of the tyre casing of passenger cars are multi-ply. They are inclusive of cords made up of rayon, nylon or polyester within the rubber compound. The role of these cords is to add strength to the casing of the rubber. Manufacturers prefer using polyester as it provides excellent adhesion to the rubber, exceptional strength, top-notch heat dissipation, and excellent ride characteristics.
Sidewall: To increase the weather resistance and flexibility of the tyres a special rubber compound is used in the sidewall. To provide a quicker steering response, some tyres like performance tyres, incorporate steel or nylon inserts.
Bead: The bundles of the tyre bead secure the tyre to the wheel. Beads are big steel rods that are wound together to form a cable-like configuration. To hold the bead bundles in place, the casing plies are looped around them. A rubber compound by the name of the bead filler is added to the bead configuration, and it extends to the sidewall area of the tyre. A hard rubber compound is used in the outer area of the bead. This hard rubber is made up of a durable compound that can withstand the rigours related to mounting tyre to the wheel.
Innerliner: A special compound of rubber is utilised as an air seal inside the tyre. The inner liner layer is similar to an inner tube, and it has no cord reinforcing. Evencheap tyres adhere to these structures because these help to make tighter grip and force holding ability.
Belt system: during the construction process of the tyre, the belt system is placed on the top of the casing. The primary function of the belt system is to offer stability to the tread area of the tyre. The most commonly used material for the belt is steel. Belt also helps in reducing the weight of the tyre. To make the belt system, two plies of steel rods are placed at an opposite angle.
Tread: The slab of the tread is placed on top of the belt system. The tread of a tyre is composed of two rubber compounds, a tread cap, and a tread base. During the process of curing the tread pattern of the tyre is moulded into a tread cap.