Project Descriptions

Testing

Modal Testing of Cords for NVH Applications

This project is developing a specialized testing system designed to better understand how tire reinforcement cords behave under the dynamic conditions that influence noise, vibration, and ride comfort. These cords are critical structural components within a tire, yet their high-frequency dynamic properties remain difficult to measure using conventional testing equipment.

Researchers are creating a dedicated test platform capable of characterizing a wide range of tire cord materials, including nylon, polyester, rayon, aramid, and hybrid constructions. The new approach is designed to capture performance data at frequencies relevant to modern vehicle noise and vibration analysis, providing information that has historically been difficult, time-consuming, or impossible to obtain.

The resulting data and testing capability will help improve the accuracy of tire simulation models used to predict noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) performance, supporting the development of quieter, smoother-riding tires and more efficient virtual design processes.

Optimal Modal Testing and Automated Identification of Meridional Bending Modes of Radial Tires

This project is advancing the science of tire vibration and noise by developing faster, more efficient methods for identifying critical tire vibration modes that strongly influence vehicle ride quality and noise performance. These specialized vibration patterns, known as meridional bending modes, play an important role in how tires transmit vibrations to the vehicle but remain difficult and time-consuming to measure using current industry practices.

Researchers are creating new testing procedures that dramatically reduce the number of measurements required while improving the ability to isolate and identify individual vibration modes. A key outcome will be standardized testing guidelines and software tools that automate much of the complex analysis traditionally performed by experts, significantly reducing testing time and effort.

Tire Cord Properties for FEA Modal and Steady State Dynamic Analyses

This project addressed a critical challenge in predicting tire noise and vibration performance by developing a more accurate understanding of how tire reinforcement cords behave under real-world dynamic conditions. The research team developed advanced testing methods and validated the data through a combination of laboratory vibration testing and advanced computer simulations.

The project delivered new testing procedures, material characterization data, and simulation methodologies that enable more realistic tire finite element models for NVH analysis, helping manufacturers reduce development time and design quieter, more comfortable vehicles with fewer physical prototypes.

Snow Measurements and Characterization for Traction Prediction

This project focused on improving how the tire industry measures and characterizes compacted snow, enabling more accurate prediction of winter tire performance. A major achievement was the development of a new field-testing device specifically designed to evaluate compacted snow conditions more consistently and efficiently than existing methods.

The resulting technologies, testing methodologies, and analytical tools provide tire manufacturers with new capabilities for characterizing winter test surfaces and supporting the development of next-generation snow traction simulation models.

Automated Vibration Mode Shape Characterization of Radial Tire using Zernike Moment Descriptor and Machine Learning

This project developed an AI-based framework to automatically identify and classify tire vibration mode shapes from finite element simulations, combining Zernike Annular Moment Descriptors with machine learning algorithms and neural networks to automate this traditionally manual and expert-intensive process.

The resulting tool significantly reduces analysis time and improves consistency in NVH studies, supporting faster tire design optimization and more efficient simulation-driven product development.

Sustainability

Surface Migration of 6-PPD and Design of a Novel Sustainable Antiozonants and Antioxidants for Rubber Formulations

This project addresses growing environmental concerns related to 6-PPD, a common tire additive used to protect rubber from ozone and oxidative degradation. Recent studies have linked 6-PPD transformation products to harmful effects in aquatic ecosystems, creating a need for both improved understanding of how the chemical is released from tires and the development of more sustainable alternatives.

The research has two primary goals: quantifying how 6-PPD migrates from tire compounds to the rubber surface under various aging conditions including ozone, UV radiation, humidity, and temperature; and developing a sustainable alternative based on naturally derived melanin chemistry. Melanin offers antioxidant protection comparable to conventional additives along with strong UV-blocking capability, potentially reducing the need for multiple additive packages in tire formulations.

The project aims to deliver both a better understanding of 6-PPD release mechanisms and a promising pathway toward more sustainable tire formulations.

Multiscale Dynamic Assessment of Airborne Microplastic Emissions in Tire Wear Particles

This project addresses the emerging issue of airborne microplastics generated from tire wear particles, which are becoming an increasingly important component of traffic-related air pollution as vehicle exhaust emissions continue to decline.

The project combines real-time air sampling, on-road vehicle testing, particle characterization techniques, and traffic modeling to quantify airborne microplastic emissions across multiple scales — from the individual tire and vehicle level through to entire urban transportation networks. A key outcome will be standardized testing procedures and a publicly available modeling tool capable of estimating city-wide emissions under different traffic and vehicle scenarios.

Interfacial Engineering for Circular Tire-to-Tire Rubber Recycling

This project is advancing sustainable tire manufacturing by developing technologies that enable recycled tire rubber to be incorporated directly into new tires without sacrificing performance. Researchers are developing a novel interfacial engineering approach that improves how recycled rubber particles bond with new rubber compounds, addressing both adhesion and material compatibility at the microscopic interface.

Success would represent an important step toward a more circular tire economy — reducing waste, conserving raw materials, and transforming tire recycling from a disposal challenge into a sustainable resource opportunity.

Smart Devulcanization of End-of-Life Tires: Enhanced Interface Along with Mechanical Properties in SBR Compound

This project is developing advanced recycling technologies that transform end-of-life tires into high-value materials for use in new rubber products. The research focuses on "smart devulcanization" — a process that carefully breaks down the crosslinked structure of used tire rubber while preserving the underlying polymer chains that provide strength and durability.

Researchers are investigating novel ultrasonic and environmentally friendly chemical approaches that selectively reverse the tire curing process, creating recycled rubber that can be blended with significantly higher levels of virgin rubber than is currently possible, supporting a more circular economy for the tire industry.

Physics

Combined FEA and Multi-length Scale Modeling and Testing of Wet Cornering Performance

This project is advancing the understanding of how tires generate grip while cornering on wet roads. By combining advanced computer simulations with experimental testing, researchers are developing a new physics-based approach to predict tire performance in challenging wet-weather conditions, with validation through specialized laboratory testing.

Modeling Nanoscale Tire-Road Interface: Adhesion and Sliding Friction

This project is investigating the tire-road interface at the nanometer scale using advanced modeling and simulation tools, examining how tire materials interact with road surfaces at the microscopic contact points that ultimately influence grip, handling, wear, and overall tire performance.

By revealing the fundamental mechanisms that govern adhesion and friction at the smallest scales, this research aims to provide new scientific insights that can guide the design of future tire compounds.

Characterization and Modeling of Deformable Soils for Tire Performance Simulation

This completed project developed new modeling and simulation capabilities to better understand how tires interact with deformable surfaces such as soil, sand, and agricultural terrain. Researchers created and validated advanced computer models capturing the behavior of a wide range of soil conditions, providing tire manufacturers with a stronger scientific foundation for evaluating tire designs in off-road environments.

Characterization and Modeling of Different Snow Attributes for Tire Performance Simulation

This completed project developed advanced simulation technology enabling tire performance on snow to be evaluated in a virtual environment. Researchers established a framework capable of predicting winter traction performance without relying exclusively on costly field testing, and demonstrated how tire design features such as tread patterns and sipes influence traction on snow-covered surfaces.

Materials

Carbon Negative Butadiene CO₂Polymers: Material Synthesis and Property Evaluation

This project is exploring a new generation of sustainable tire materials that transform captured carbon dioxide into high-performance synthetic rubber. By using CO₂ as a valuable raw material, researchers are developing innovative rubber technologies that could help reduce the tire industry's carbon footprint while maintaining the performance drivers expect.

If successful, this work could provide a pathway for manufacturing tires that actively store captured carbon, supporting the industry's transition toward a more circular and sustainable future.

Flexoelectric Polyelectrolyte Elastomer for Tire Sensors and Tire Energy Harvesters

This project is developing an innovative new material that could help transform tires into intelligent, self-powered systems. This highly flexible material can generate electrical signals directly from mechanical movement, creating opportunities for embedded tire sensors that monitor critical operating conditions such as pressure, temperature, strain, and road interaction.

A key advantage is its compatibility with existing tire manufacturing processes, making it a practical candidate for future smart tire applications.

Coal-Derived Biocompatible Graphene as an Effective and Safer Alternative to 6PPD in Tires

This project is investigating a new tire additive based on graphene derived from coal as a safer alternative to a widely used tire ingredient linked to harmful effects on aquatic ecosystems. The research will evaluate whether coal-derived graphene can provide the durability, performance, and protection required in modern tires while reducing environmental impacts throughout the tire lifecycle.

Wireless Flexible Piezo-polymer Sensors for Smart Tires

This project is developing a new class of lightweight, flexible, and wireless sensors that integrate directly into tires to provide real-time information about performance and operating conditions including deformation, vibration, and noise. The technology will be evaluated under a wide range of real-world driving conditions including paved roads, gravel, mud, and snow.

Butadiene CO₂-Polymers: Formulation and Testing

Building on earlier CenTiRe-funded breakthroughs, this project is advancing a new generation of rubber materials that use CO₂ as a valuable feedstock, helping reduce reliance on traditional petroleum-based ingredients. The research focuses on moving these innovative materials from the laboratory into realistic tire formulations, evaluating how they perform when combined with conventional tire compounds and processing methods.

Manufacturing

Additively Manufactured Meshed Air Cooling/Heating for Tire Industry Applications

This project is developing a new approach to heating and cooling tire manufacturing equipment using advanced additive manufacturing technologies. By leveraging innovative 3D-printed metal structures with highly engineered internal architectures, researchers aim to deliver more precise temperature control throughout critical tire production processes.

The new approach uses lightweight, high-surface-area structures that enable targeted airflow, improving temperature uniformity while reducing energy consumption and operational complexity — paving the way for next-generation tire manufacturing equipment that is more energy efficient, sustainable, and adaptable.