Bridgestone Develops New 'Cooling Fin' Technology for Runflat Tyres
Bridgestone Cooling Fin
Bridgestone has developed new Cooling Fin technology that expands the vehicle application potential of runflat tyres. Runflat tyres enable the driver to drive up to a specified distance at a specified speed (80 km at 80 kph) following a loss of air pressure.
The challenge facing runflat technology was to devise a way to minimize the heat caused by deformation of the sidewall when driving on a sidewall-reinforced type runflat tyre that has lost air. Cooling Fin technology is a new paradigm that uses disturbances in the airflow created by protrusions on the surface of the tyre sidewall – that face in towards the center of the wheel – to cool the tyre sidewall. Tests have shown a reduction of 12 °C for the rubber sidewalls after 10 minutes running without air pressure. Thus, the maximum distance could be increased by 80%, but this technology could also be used to lower the weight of the current tyre 20% heavier than a conventional same size.
This advancement allows the development of runflat tyres for certain SUVs, CUVs, minivans and large passenger cars where the high tyre cross-section causes a significant amount of heat to be generated on the sidewall when driving with low air pressure. Previously, sidewall reinforced runflat technology was limited for use with passenger cars. Bridgestone has filed for patents on this technology.
Yvonnick Gazeau
