WEST CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. (Aug. 30, 2010)—ASTM International Committee F09 on Tires has established a new standard to cover a laboratory roadwheel test to realistically evaluate truck and bus tires for specific road conditions.
The new standard—ASTM F2779, developed by Subcommittee F09.30 on Laboratory Testing—describes the procedures of using a flat-to-curved surface prediction profiler to identify the equivalent test severity conditions on a laboratory roadwheel. It covers specific flat or highway operating conditions for Load Range F to L tires used on commercial vehicles.
ASTM said the standard will be used by government agencies, independent tire testing laboratories and tire manufacturers.
Because of the significance of tire operating conditions such as speed, inflation pressure and load, “it is necessary to conduct roadwheel tire tests using test conditions that reflect temperature equivalency to specific road (flat surface) operating conditions if a meaningful measure of tire endurance is to be achieved,” said Stan Lew, Michelin North America Inc. manager of industry standards and government regulations, and an F09 committee member.