Horizontal Wheel Testing at Accelerated Conditions for Tire Safety Evaluation
The automotive industry is demanding more and more tailor-made tire testing for sport utility, multipurpose and other types of vehicles in order to meet the performance requirements based on various vehicle platforms and climatic conditions. This tougher demand has created a need for more accelerated functional tire testing at higher temperatures and environmental conditions (oxygen, ozone and humid environments, etc.) The ARDL Engineering Group has recently announced a new concept in endurance testing using a six-head tire wheel testing machine with environment controlled stations. The ARDL "tire-wheel" testing rig integrates six separately controlled temperature/environmental chambers, one for each of the six test tires. This approach will allow ARDL's Engineering Group to provide automotive companies "cost-effective" research and development testing for tire safety.

This ARDL horizontal tire test rig features PLC closed-looped controls which allow very precise control of load, speed and temperature. The PLC interface will allow the test engineer to load the test profile and then tag all key test parameters throughout the duration of a test for future review.

High Speed "Indoor" Wheel Testing
     • Machine - 67.23" Dia. Drum
     • Inflation - as Per New ARDL Test Schedule
     • Load - 88% of Max. Load
     • Break-in - 2 hrs at 50 mph then cool to 100°F

Tire Speed - 150 MPH (Maximum)
     • Typical Chamber Aging Temperatures: -40°C, -10°C, 70°C, 80°C, 90°C and 100°C

Tire Development
     • Finite Element Analysis
     • Footprint Pressure Distribution Response
     • Impact, Force and Moment
     • Rolling Resistance - Using the New ARDL Technique
     • Tire Electrical Resistance - Static Build Up
     • Dynamic Stiffness Measurement (MTS)