eBook

Advancements in Pressure Mapping Technology Drive Robust Tire Analysis

How insights from pressure mapping technology help industry experts analyze and improve the driving experience.

How insights from pressure mapping technology help industry experts analyze and improve the driving experience.

Tire manufacturers can now get high-speed, flat surface contact patch tire pressure data under repeatable and controlled lab conditions. 

Tekscan and Calspan revealed a revolutionary new measurement technology that captures tire motion on a flat track surface, a more accurate simulation than traditional high speed drum systems provide. This work represents the culmination of three years of R&D and testing which began in 2019 when the two companies combined Calspan's 75 years of tire testing expertise with Tekscan's industry leading pressure mapping capabilities to develop next-generation testing methods for tire analysis and modeling.

This eBook will offer insights revealed by the technology on:

  • Vertical load sensitivity among different tires
  • Impact of velocity and slip angle on contact patch pressure distribution
  • A unique phenomenon the system revealed related to extreme cornering

The technology has been used with select customers at Calspan's indoor tire testing facility, capturing tire contact patch pressure distribution when rolling at dynamic conditions on the flat-belt tire test machine. It has been highly effective at increasing the understanding of how tire contact patch areas behave in various dynamic conditions. 

This more sophisticated contact patch model improves the results of physical thermo-mechanical models compared with the standard parabolic pressure distribution assumptions.  

Tekscan's High Speed Tirescan was first revealed at the 2023 Tire Tech Expo, and we are now proud to share our detailed High Speed Tire Testing EBook..