[Tushar]

Dealing with tyre bursts

Tyre bursts are among the most dangerous and difficult to counter accident causes in the world. They occur with little warning and leave motorists with milliseconds to react...often resulting in major mishaps, especially in the case of SUVs and MUVs which are prone to toppling over. While maintaining the health + air pressure of your tyres and sticking to the appropriate speed limit are the best tools to prevent tyre bursts, there's still a need to make tyres burst proof (or at least close to it), given the fact that the issue extends to aircraft and racecar tyres as well.

Tychee Juno (TJ), a team lead by Sameer Panda, a PhD student of VSSUT & team members Udit Bondia, Dr. Kshama Panda & Smitiparna Satpathy, has introduced the Burst Prevention & Puncture Curative (BPPC) technology with the Mild Run Flat Tyre (MRFT). The tyre is aimed at not only limiting the effects of a puncture, but also eliminating tyre bursts.



MRFT is a multi-chambered tubeless tyre with a layer of sealant and rubber particles inside the chambers to take care of punctures in the tread and sidewall. The centrifugal pressure at higher speeds along with the consistent pneumatic pressure help achieve a uniform distribution of the sealant sandwiched between the chamber and inner liner of tubeless tyres. This, the team says, helps control the effects of punctures and prevent tyre bursts, while reducing the use of lead and negating the need for wheel balancing. According to the developers, MRFT takes care of the drawbacks of traditional tyre sealants such as leakage, deterioration of the sealant due to interaction with air, rubber hardening and clogging near the valve.

Additionally, the sealant inside the MRFT acts as a coolant to prevent overheating - a major contributor to tyre bursts especially on the highway. The team claims that unlike other run flat tyres available in the market, the MRFT does not have any limitations on distance and speed after a puncture either.

TJ claims the tyre can be made in existing manufacturing setups with small modifications.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J5Xic6yRDA

The technology was recognized as one of the top 10 most popular entries in the 2015 Create the Future design contest, conducted by NASA Tech Briefs in New York. This year, the competition saw over 1,150 entries coming in from more than 60 countries. The technology was also one of 32 innovations published in the November special edition issue of NASA Tech Brief. A senior researcher at NASA has shown interest in providing further technical assistance, while a sponsor of the event is interested in investing in the project for operation in the USA.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Tyres Section. Thanks for sharing!

[Axe77]

I thought we already had those "puncture proof" sealants available in the market for a long time that basically delivered the same results. Which could be put into any tire. I wonder in what way this is path breaking beyond the existing sealant solution.