Tire Performance in a winter environment – overview of an objective test method: ASTM F1805
Various tire testing procedures exist today to quantify tire performance on snow and ice. Both subjective analysis of tire vehicle combinations and objective measurements of tire performance are used. The test procedure for objective measurements of single wheel driving traction, ASTM F-1805, will be presented. This procedure uses a level, specially compacted snow test surface and a four wheeled test vehicle with a single instrumented drive wheel position. Equipment and test description, test methods and parameters, data reduction techniques and surface quantification will be presented.
SPEAKER: Paul Schultz, President, Mobility Research
ASTM F09: Tire Performance Testing for Winter Conditions and Evaluating Data
Testing tires in winter conditions, specifically snow and ice, presents unique challenges when it comes to consistency. Much of this testing occurs outside of a controlled laboratory environment, which necessitates procedures and conditions to improve quality and repeatability of testing data. This presentation delivers an overview of two testing standards that can improve the data gathering and evaluation process when it comes to tire performance testing in winter conditions. ASTM F1572 is a standardized test method for evaluating the performance of tires on snow and ice, including straight-line acceleration and braking, step steer, slalom, hill climb, and road circuit handling. Test programs can extend over days or weeks, during which time test conditions can vary significantly due to a number of environmental factors. For tire performance comparisons to be successful, it is crucial to consider procedures that investigate and adjust for systematic or bias variations. ASTM F1650 provides a framework to evaluate tire data for statistically significant trend variations and the means to correct data if needed. This presentation will explore how these two standards can be applied in tandem to maximize testing data quality.
SPEAKER: Eric Pierce, Senior Project Engineer, Smithers Winter Test Center
ASTM Standard Reference Test Tires
Due the planned obsolesce of the ASTM E1136 Standard Reference Test Tire, ASTM F09 Committee on Tires performed a study under the direction of a task group to determine the changes required to the snow traction test standard, ASTM F1805. This study resulted in updates to the test surface specifications, the calculation of test results, and recommendations to regulatory bodies regarding the certification of tires to receive the alpine symbol marking for use in severe snow conditions based on the test results from ASTM F1805 and UN R117.
SPEAKER: David Howland, GM Technical Fellow and Global Lead for Tire Testing and Analytical Methods, General Motors North America
ASTM D8059: Method for Measuring Percent Dispersion / Silanization of Silica Loaded Compounds and Percent Dispersion of Carbon Black via the RPA
With special new improvements to the Rubber Process Analyzer, it is now being used to measure the silica dispersion and silanization of silica loaded rubber compounds during a mixing operation through the new ASTM D8059 standard (based on the Payne Effect) that has been recently developed. Also, this new ASTM method is quite effective at measuring carbon black dispersion as well. RPA applications data will be shown from using the new ASTM D8059 procedure. Also correlations with other methods of measuring percent dispersion will be shown.
SPEAKER: John Dick, Technical Editor, Rubber & Plastics News