TIRES AND WHEELS

TIRES AND WHEELS 

history 

One of the reasons why the wheel was invented only at this point in history is due to the fact that metal tools were needed to chisel fine-fitted holes and axles. This leads to the next reason – the wheel was not just a cylinder rolling on its edge. It was a cylinder that was connected to a stable, stationary platform. This wheel-axle concept was a stroke of genius, but making it was a challenge. The ends of the axle, as well as the holes in the centre of the wheels had to be nearly perfectly smooth and round. Failing to achieve this would result in too much friction between these components, and the wheel would not turn. Although the axle had to fit snugly in the holes of the wheels, they had to have enough room to allow them to rotate freely. Given the complexity of the wheel-axle combination, it may be unsurprising that the wheel was not initially invented for transportation purposes. Instead, it has been claimed that wheels were first used by potters. Remember the 5,500-year-old wheel for Mesopotamia? It seems that it was a potters’ wheel (the use of wheels for pottery making may date even further back into the Neolithic). It seems that the use of wheels for transportation only happened 300 years later.

The wheel is probably the most important mechanical invention of all time. It’s hard to imagine any mechanized system that would be possible without the wheel or the idea of a symmetrical component moving in a circular motion on an axis.A wheel with spokes first appeared on Egyptian chariots around 2000 BC, and wheels seem to have developed in Europe by 1400 BC without any influence from the Middle East. Because the idea of the wheel appears so simple, it’s easy to assume that the wheel would have simply "happened" in every culture when it reached a particular level of sophistication.

DISCOVERER/INVENTOR

John Dunlop/Charles Goodyear

Charles Goodyear(inventor)

In 1837, Charles Goodyear received his first patent (US patent #240) for a process that made rubber an easier product to work with.However, this was not the patent Charles Goodyear is best known for.

In 1843, Charles Goodyear discovered that if you removed the sulfur from rubber then heated it, it would retain its elasticity. This process called vulcanization made rubber waterproof and winter-proof and opened the door for a enormous market for rubber goods.

On June 24, 1844, Charles Goodyear was granted patent #3,633 for vulcanized rubber.A natural substance that had been used for centuries before being rediscovered by Columbus and introduced to western culture. Caoutchouc came from the Indian word “cahuchu,” which meant “weeping wood.” Natural rubber was harvested from the sap that oozed from the bark of a tree. The name "rubber" comes from the use of the natural substance as a pencil eraser that could “rub out” pencil marks and is the reason that it was then re-named “rubber.”

http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventors/a/CharlesGoodyear.htm

http://inventors.about.com/cs/inventorsalphabet/a/rubber.htm

John Dunlop(inventor)

 Charles Goodyear, who in 1844 -- more than 50 years before the first rubber tires would appear on cars -- patented a process known as vulcanization. This process involved heating and removing the sulphur from rubber, thus making the rubber water-proof and winter-proof and allowing it to retain its elasticity. While Goodyear's claim to have invented vulcanization was challenged

In 1895, André Michelin and his brother Edouard, who had previously patented a removable bike tire, were the first to use pneumatic tires on an automobile.

• In 1911, Philip Strauss invented the first successful tire, which was a combination tire and air filled inner tube. Strauss' company the Hardman Tire & Rubber Company marketed the tires. 
• In 1903, P.W. Litchfield of the Goodyear Tire Company patented the first tubeless tire, however, it was never commercially exploited until the 1954 Packard. 
• In 1904, mountable rims were introduced that allowed drivers to fix their own flats. In 1908, Frank Seiberling invented grooved tires with improved road traction. 
• In 1910, B.F. Goodrich Company invented longer life tires by adding carbon to the rubber. 
• Goodrich also invented the first synthetic rubber tires in 1937 made of a patented substance called Chemigum.
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• http://inventors.about.com/od/famousinventions/fl/John-Dunlop-Charles-Goodyear-and-the-History-of-Tires.htm

composition

A car tires is made up of synthetic rubber,Natural rubber is found as a milky liquid in the bark of the rubber tree, Hevea Brasiliensis. the liquid latex is mixed with acids that cause the rubber to solidify. Presses squeeze out excess water and form the rubber into sheets, and then the sheets are dried in tall smokehouses,The other primary ingredient in tire rubber is carbon black. Carbon black is a fine, soft powder created when crude oil or natural gas is burned with a limited amount of oxygen, causing incomplete combustion and creating a large amount of fine soot. So much carbon black is required for manufacturing tires that rail cars transport it and huge silos store the carbon black at the tire factory until it is needed.

Sulfur and other chemicals are also used in tires. Specific chemicals, when mixed with rubber and then heated, produce specific tire characteristics such as high friction (but low mileage) for a racing tire or high mileage (but lower friction) for a passenger car tire. Some chemicals keep the rubber flexible while it is being shaped into a tire while other chemicals protect the rubber from the ultraviolet radiation in sunshine.The main ingredient in tire rubber is a synthetic polymer called styrene-butadiene, which is a big, stable chemical that doesn't break down easily. It's often assumed that chemicals like these are not as toxic because they don't leach easily into the environment. But Draper and her colleagues have studied chunks of rubber that are left in water, and they've noticed that some of the chemicals do, in fact, leach into the water. And if anything, that same amount of rubber would probably release more chemicals into the water if it were in the form of small particles, because smaller particles have much more surface area in direct contact with the water. 

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Tire.html#ixzz4MU01ufYA

CONTRIBUTION TO PEOPLE/USERS

Tire rubber pollution is just one of many environmental problems in which the research is lagging far behind the damage we may have done. Tire rubber has been used continuously for a whole century, but Draper's research is only just beginning. The longer we wait to study problems like these, the more effort we may have to expend in order to correct them in the future. 

STRUCTURE OF A TIRES

 tires comes from carbon black, a readily-available material that provides greatly improved wear characteristics and heat-dissipation capabilities when added to rubber compounds.it helps to contact to the road and help maintain a healthy tire temperature.Chinese manufacturer, and are mostly intended for show use (these likely use standard plastic pigments along with silica filler -- similar compounds are used for sneaker soles -- this provides good traction but much poorer wear characteristics than carbon black).  carbon black increases the strength and durability of the tyres, which is understandably seen as a desirable trait for tyre manufacturers and car drivers. Any car driver, passenger or pedestrian knows that tyres are typically black. But, have you ever wondered why? Why does everyone go for the generic black look instead of something more exciting such as red or green?

While the very first tyres were created from bands of iron placed on wooden wheels of carts and wagons, the first rubber car tyres which were invented in 1895, were in fact white. So why are these white tyres not around today?

Although the natural colour of rubber is a milky white, the black colour we see was originally caused by soot. The soot was thought to increase the durability of the tyre along with cotton threads, which were inserted in order to reduce heat and increase stability.

However, the main reason for black tyres on cars today, is the chemical compound ‘carbon black’. It is used as a stabilising chemical, which is combined with other polymers to create the tread compound of a tyre. Once added to the rubber, carbon black increases the strength and durability of the tyres, which is understandably seen as a desirable trait for tyre manufacturers and car drivers. One way carbon black expands the lifespan of tyres is by conducting heat away from parts of the tyre that tend to get particularly hot when driving, such as the tread and belt areas. Carbon maintains the quality of tyres by protecting them from UV light and ozone, which are known to deteriorate tyres.

Not only do the black tyres increase strength and durability, they also largely affect the safety of your driving. Having stronger, long lasting tyres means you will have a more reliable drive. Tyres could be considered the most important part of your vehicle as they affect almost every performance factor from handling and acceleration to braking and ride comfort.