John B. Ferris - US grants

0968912 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Saied Taheri
0968940 University of Akron; Celal Batur

The Center for Tire Research and Test Center (Tire TeC) will focus on building a base of research, engineering education, and technology transfer that will impact industrial practice and productivity through advanced materials and intelligent tire technologies. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VT) and the University of Akron (UA) are collaborating to establish the proposed center, with VT as the lead institution.

The primary goals of this planning project are to initiate formal partnership with various industry partners and national laboratories that have an interest in tire technologies, and to discuss fundamental issues and topics for research. The proposed IUCRC will generate new scientific knowledge; develop novel smart-material-based tires, novel nanotechnology-based tire compounds, and intelligent tire technology; and advance their associated dynamic models and constitutive relationships by developing virtual and hardware-in-the-loop-based simulation environments. The various envisioned research thrusts will provide solutions to improve the industry's yield and contribute to its competitiveness.

If successful, the proposed Center has the potential to improve sustainability and profitability of US tire manufacturing industry by developing new technologies that will reduce energy consumption, pollution and increase driving safety. The Center will greatly enhance the infrastructure and lead to other opportunities to assist the tire manufacturers. The proposed center plans to provide students and faculty with a platform for conducting industry-relevant research, establish an effective mechanism for collaboration, and will help promote, catalyze, and accelerate the commercialization of innovative technologies. Finally, Tire TeC will recruit participants from groups traditionally under-represented in Mechanical Engineering, Polymer Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and other scientific disciplines and will promote this center through its ongoing working relationships with colleagues at Virginia Tech's Northern Virginia Campus and the Middle Eastern and Northern Africa (VT-MENA) campuses.

/UCRC for Tire Research

1160977 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Saied Taheri

1160982 University of Akron; Celal Batur

The Center for Tire Research (CenTiRe) will focus on supporting a research program in tire materials, modeling, manufacturing, and testing combined with rubber material prototyping and testing, and parallel computing and dynamic simulation capabilities. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VT) and the University of Akron (UA) are collaborating to establish the proposed center, with VT as the lead institution.

The primary goals of the proposed center are to initiate formal partnerships with various industry partners and national laboratories that have an interest in tire technologies, and to discuss fundamental issues and topics for research. The Center will fulfill the needs of the tire manufacturing companies by providing innovative solutions in all four research thrust areas of materials, modeling, manufacturing, and testing. The vehicle manufacturing companies are more interested in the application of tire in their products. The Center is built upon the knowledge and expertise of multi-disciplinary researchers in Mechanical, Polymer, and Chemical Engineering at Virginia Tech (VT) and the University of Akron (UA). CenTiRe intends to provide the industry with highly trained undergraduate and graduate students who will contribute to this growing industry.

If successful, the proposed Center has the potential to improve sustainability and profitability of US tire manufacturing industry by developing new technologies that will reduce energy consumption, pollution and increase driving safety. The Center plans to graduate a new generation of specialists in tire engineering providing the industry with access to potential employees. The members and the organizational structure of the CenTiRe will promote precompetitive research that will allow the members to rapidly and cost-effectively bring new products to market. Finally, the Center will become a conduit for the professional training and education of not just graduate students from underrepresented and women engineering groups, but also representatives from industry through its outreach programs.

The Center for Tire Research (CenTiRe) is a collaboration between NSF, Virginia Tech and the University of Akron with Virginia Tech as the lead site. The Center?s Mission is to improve road transportation safety by understanding the complex interactions between the tire, road surface and the vehicle, and then applying this knowledge to improve tire materials, manufacturing, simulation and testing methods. This mission is broadly supported with complementary expertise from companies in the vehicle, tire, materials, and testing fields. To support this mission, the Virginia Tech site will conduct and disseminate innovative research and solutions in tire and vehicle modeling and simulation tools, tire-road interaction characterization and modeling (force and moment modeling, friction and wear, noise, and vibration), related test equipment development, and intelligent tire system and the University of Akron will provide innovative industrial research in tire materials, material models, simulation tools, test equipment, and manufacturing methods. This recent award enables CenTiRe to move into Phase 2. The Center is proud to promote the progress of science by directly supporting the education and training of a diverse group of graduate and undergraduate students.

With the advancements made in vehicle as well as road design, the demand on tire performance has increased tremendously in the past few years. Therefore, the need for fundamental and applied research for the tire industry has increased significantly. The Center for Tire Research (CenTiRe) has the objective to conduct and disseminate innovations in tire science and technology through conducting research and finding solutions for new materials, models, simulation tools, test equipment, and manufacturing methods. Since Virginia Tech (VT) is globally known for tire and vehicle engineering, VT will conduct research to better understand tire performance through model development, simulation and testing. This includes but is not limited to: tire and vehicle dynamic modeling using physics-based, experiment-based and finite element methods; tire-road interaction modeling for friction, wear and noise; intelligent tire development for tire health monitoring; road profiling and friction estimation; and some innovative materials development for enhanced tire performance. The University of Akron is globally known for its polymer science and engineering, and makes its strongest contribution in the field of materials development, modeling, simulation, and testing. Specifically: analyzing rubber-filler interactions, new materials design, tire noise minimization, materials fracture and sustainability testing as well as development of constitutive laws for materials. The developed technologies from these two universities within CenTiRe will aim at improving tire traction properties, fuel economy, environmental impact, as well as functional performances such as handling, ride, noise, and wear. Cars and trucks play a major role in our nation's economy. Therefore, the demand for engineers and scientists who are highly knowledgeable in tire technology will significantly grow in the future. Both Virginia Tech and the University of Akron have been well known as institutions which provide a well-trained workforce for our relevant industries by providing rigorous training for our undergraduate and graduate students as well as seminars and industrial courses for life-long learners in the field. Therefore, CenTiRe, and more specifically Virginia Tech and the University of Akron, have developed a rigorous training process which includes analytical as well as hands-on research plus several graduate level courses which will help the students find positions within the member companies after graduation.