Can the car continue driving after a flat tire?
How far can we go?
How fast can we walk?
Today's collision and insight tell you what you must know about tire safety.
0 1? The history of tires
In 3500 BC, one of the most important inventions in modern human history appeared: the wheel.
The earliest wheels were made of wood, and only after the appearance of ironmaking technology did iron wheels come into being. Iron wheels are very durable, but they cannot provide a comfortable driving experience.
rubber tire
1839, Charles Goodyear invented the vulcanization technology of changing plastic rubber into elastic rubber. The invention of this technology makes rubber the best material for making tires.
Solid rubber tire
On the basis of moldable elastic rubber tires, people invented solid rubber tires. Solid rubber tires are very hard and have good shock absorption and damage resistance. However, solid rubber tires are very heavy, which is not conducive to the driving experience.
Nevertheless, until today, there are still tires made of solid rubber.
pneumatic tyre
Pneumatic tires use rubber and enclosed air to reduce tire vibration and improve vehicle running efficiency. Robert W. Thomson, a Scottish engineer, was the first person to apply for a patent for pneumatic tires, but this technology was too fashionable and failed to achieve commercial success at that time.
1888, John Deng Lupu also applied for a patent for pneumatic tires. Due to the popularity of bicycles, Deng Lupu's invention was a great success.
Bias tire and radial tire
In the next 50 years, bias tire and radial tire were invented, which have their own characteristics in longitudinal stiffness and service life and become the mainstream of tire industry.
Bias tire (left)? Radial tire (right side)
02? Tire safety
On the basis of bias tire and radial tire, tire technology has made a qualitative leap, and tire safety has become more and more important.
According to the analysis of relevant statistical data, nearly 50% of major traffic accidents on expressways are caused by chronic air leakage of tires, most of which are missing nails, which leads to fever and puncture of tires during operation.
How to keep running after being nailed to reduce the risk of accidents is a difficult point that tire manufacturers need to overcome.
Since the 1950' s, tire manufacturers have started various tire safety optimization, and finally formed two schools:
Self-sealing safety tire
A sufficient amount of sealant is pre-filled in the tire cavity or sealing layer. After the tire is punctured by a foreign body, the sealant will automatically flow to the perforation to block the hole, so as to prevent the tire from falling due to air leakage, thus maintaining the normal driving state.
Self-sealing safety tire
Rigid support type safety tire
This kind of tire can be subdivided into two types: self-supporting and supporting. Compared with ordinary tires, the former does not add any parts, but only through the special design or enhancement of an original part, so that the tire can still maintain the driving contour after losing pressure; The latter achieves the purpose of maintaining the driving contour after the tire loses pressure by introducing parts that ordinary tires do not have.
03? What should I do after a flat tire?
At present, most vehicles are equipped with "tire pressure monitoring system". When a tire is punctured during driving, it will start to leak. When the monitoring system determines that the tire pressure of one tire is lower than that of other tires, the vehicle (usually on the dashboard) will give an alarm.
Automobile tire pressure missing fault symbol
In this case, the driver should first park the vehicle on the safe side of the road, get off and simply check the condition of the tire, find the punctured part of the tire, and rule out the situation that the tire has been damaged or cut in a large area (if it is obviously damaged, it is necessary to seek trailer rescue, usually the auto insurance company has free trailer service).
Generally speaking, most cars on the market now use tubeless tires. This kind of tire has a rubber sealing layer on its inner surface. When the tire is stuck on the nail, the sealing layer can wrap the nail, prevent the tire from leaking, quickly reduce the tire pressure and avoid the situation of "puncture".
According to the degree of insufficient tire pressure, theoretically, the vehicle can continue driving for hundreds of kilometers at a speed of 30-80km/h (the "flat tire" can still reach the theoretical driving speed of 130km/h after a flat tire). But in any case, the destination should be a regular tire repair point! At the same time, don't try to pull the nail yourself! Pulling nails will lead to rapid tire pressure loss, causing secondary damage to tires, and there is a possibility of puncture!
The data shows that in European countries, cars will encounter a flat tire every 75,000 kilometers on average, while in some Asian countries, a flat tire accident will occur every 3,000 kilometers on average. The development of tire safety technology is an important part of automobile traffic safety. We will wait and see if there will be tires that will never puncture in the future!
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.