Ready for some science? Sometimes I fall into the trap of talking in “Engineer Speak” and forget that not everyone may understand some of the technical terms I use. I can direct you to a book published by the U.S. Department of Transportation called “The Pneumatic Tire”. In it you can learn all you’ve ever wanted to know about tire failure and then some.
If you really want to understand how tires work and why they can sometimes fail, I suggest that you put this 700-page “textbook” on your reading list. Since the book is a federal publication, it can be downloaded for free (your tax dollars at work). You can download this book here. FYI, I worked for or with four of the authors during my 45 years as a tire design engineer. I still share lunch with one of the “Co-Editors” every now and then.
As “users” of tires with a concern about tire failures, I would suggest you review Chapter 6 on “Stress Analysis”. It is the stress forces that work to cause the rubber to crack and may ultimately result in a tire failure if the stress forces are too great or are cycled too many times.
Page 621, seen below, provides a good graphic representation on where and how belt detachments can occur in modern radial tires.
Yes, the above is a computer simulation, but here is a tire removed from RV trailer service confirming the location of the crack initiation.
So, our goal should be to lower the stress levels on our tires, which is what I strive for in my posts and recommendations.
Roger Marble
Check out my Blog www.RVTireSafety.Net
Read more from Roger Marble on RVtravel.com.
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Excellent article, need more like this and less opinionated articles.
While I am a court-recognized “Expert” on tire failures in RV service, which allows me to offer my “Opinion”, I do try and stick to the more easily understood facts and concepts. If I make a post here or on my blog http://www.RVTireSafety.net that you feel is just my opinion, I suggest you ask a few questions. I am more than willing to discuss the specifics.
Hi, Roger. I’m pretty sure Ron was referring to our articles in general, since he has been very vocal about them before. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane
Speaking of “opinionated”….. look who’s commenting!
700 pages on the gripping topic of tires? Only Stephen King’s “The Stand” uncut version comes close in length. I just rely on Roger’s compendium to summarize this stuff.
Tom, so you want me to do your homework? 🙂
Absolutely!
No one better! 😄
Mine too !! 😃
Thank you, Roger! Safe travels! 🙂
I’ve tried multiple times to download the government manual on tires with no success. Do you know if the manual is still available? Thank you.
Try this link https://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/safercar/pdf/PneumaticTire_HS-810-561.pdf You can email me directly at Tireman9@gmail.com if you still have problems. You can also Google The Pneumatic Tire and then click on the link provided by Google
I had the same issue so I searched online. Try this link
https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/pneumatictire_hs-810-561.pdf