Failure analysis of tire tread separations

Abstract

In-service catastrophic radial tire failure is often a separation of the tread and outer steel belt from the tire casing and inner steel belt. These separations generally occur in the field at high temperature and high speed. This paper presents a catalog of surface characteristics that define the various types of rubber cracking that take place during a tire belt-leaving-belt separation. A mechanism that explains the generation of the rapid tearing surface is used to detail the variation found in forensic examinations.