ABOUT TYRES

Tyres are the only grip and contact between ones car and the road. They must provide a comfortable ride, yet be as robust and hard-wearing as possible, maintaining safe and controlled manoeuvrability for ones vehicle. To achieve this, tyres need to be carefully constructed from a combination of different ingredients. As many as 200 separate raw materials can be used in the construction of one tyre. Structure

The tread is the grooved outer layer that is in direct contact with the road. The rubber compound is designed to grip the road, resist general wear and tear and cope with high temperatures generated by friction. The grooves and tread sipes on the shoulder of the tyre are specially designed to channel water away from the surface of the tyre, maintaining maximum wet grip. Different rubber compounds are used for tyres to make them suitable for different vehicle's and driving conditions. For example, racing cars have tyres that can work at very high temperature ranges with optimum grip, enabling prolonged usage at high speeds on the track. These tyres wear more rapidly than typical road tyres which are balanced to provide optimum steering, braking, road holding and wear capabilities.

EVOLUTION OF TYRES

Rubber tyres
In the early 1800s, Charles Mcintosh was experimenting with latex, the sap from a tree found in the Amazon basin of South America. The latex was brought to this country after explorers had seen Indians using sheets of rubber as waterproofing. Unfortunately, these rubber sheets showed undesirable qualities. In cold weather the sheets became brittle; in hot weather they became very sticky. Rubber experimentation was widespread both in Europe and America to try to stabilise its properties.

Vulcanisation
It was in 1839 that Charles Goodyear discovered that by adding sulphur to melted latex the much sought-after attributes of elasticity and strength were attainable. This new vulcanised rubber was used initially as cushioning tyres for carriages and cycles:

The pneumatic tyre

Like so many inventions, the modern pneumatic tyre was born out of a need to solve an individual problem, rather than for a desire for fame and fortune. So in 1888, when Scotsman John Boyd Dunlop was looking for a way to make his sons bicycle journeys more comfortable, he could hardly have guessed the lasting impact his light bulb moment would have.

Detachable pneumatic tyre

Within a few years W.E. Barlett had invented an improved detachable tyre and rim. The rim incorporated a curled edge under which the hard rubber clincher or beads expanded when the tyre was inflated. The tyre had to be

stretched when fitting to enable the bead to slide over the curled flange. This led to difficulties of seating when the tyre was subjected to hard cornering forces.

Cord tyres
It was in 1915 that the Palmer Tyre Company of Detroit made a great stride forward. They pioneered the first rubberised cord fabric and made the first Cord Tyre. The fabric they used was not woven, It was all warp and no weft. All the strands of cord were laid parallel to each other and pressed into sheet rubber. The tyre casings were built using sheets of cord material, cut on the bias and laid across each other - each ply completely separated from the next by its rubber coating. The cross-ply had come into being. Experimentation continued and the search for stronger and cooler running cord materials was ceaseless. By 1937 steel cords were being used in crossply truck tyre manufacture. It should be remembered that right up to the beginning of the Second World War, many trucks were still to be found on solid tyres.

Radial tyres
Then, in 1947 came the first radial tyre, a tyre that has revolutionised the transport industry, It was hailed as the first major innovation in tyre technology since John Boyd Dunlops first practical pneumatic tyre and the blueprint for the tyres we use today.

World tire overview

The global tire market totaled $152 billion in 2010, with Light-vehicle tires accounting for 60% and Truck tires 30%. Worldwide volumes rose by slightly more than 4% in 2011, representing more than 1.3 billion tires for cars and vans and 180 million for trucks and buses. MAJOR PLAYERS

S.no

Company

Percentage share

major players contribution (+ budha line)

write down the capacity of each (top 10 players) also- budha ppt se 1 slide poori india and china- chinki

Name of the company Bridgestone Corp Michelin Goodyear Continental AG Pirelli Sumitomo Yokohama Hankook Cooper chen shing rubber others total

SALES percentage 2010 sales 24425 16.06908 22515 14.8125 16950 11.15132 8100 5.328947 6320 4.157895 5850 3.848684 4750 3.125 4513 2.969079 3361 2.211184 3354 2.206579 51862 34.11974 152000 100

Sales

others 34%

Bridgestone Corp 16% Michelin 15%

chen shing rubber 2% Cooper 2% Yokohama Hankook Sumitomo 3% 3% 4%

Goodyear 11% Continent al AG 6%

Pirelli 4%

We notice from the above diagram that