http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 232 editor@iaeme.com International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET) Volume 6, Issue 10, Oct 2015, pp. 232-242, Article ID: IJMET_06_10_023 Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=6&IType=10 ISSN Print: 0976-6340 and ISSN Online: 0976-6359 © IAEME Publication VARYING CONTACT AUTOMOTIVE PNEUMATIC TIRE Kavin Raja G, Karthik R and Mohammed Hashiq M B.E Mechanical Engineering, Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology, India ABSTRACT Tire is a major factor that determines the performance and the fuel economy of a vehicle. The tire that is available in the market cannot offer both fuel economy and vehicle performance. Using tires of high width increases the torque that can be sent to the wheels and hence the performance of the vehicle increases, but at the same time it results in increased fuel consumption because the rolling resistance of the tire increases. On the contrary using tires of low width decreases the torque transmitted to the wheels, but the fuel consumption reduces. In order to achieve both performance and fuel economy in a vehicle, a concept of tire that can vary its width continuously according to the speed of the vehicle is proposed. This concept of varying contact tire uses the principle of centrifugal force that is acting on the central part of the tire during its rotation, due to which the width of the tire is varied. Thus it changes shape based on the needs of the car. Initially the tire is designed in such a way that middle portion of the tire would be elevated and only the outside of the tire on both sides would be touching the ground. And when the speed of the vehicle increases, the centrifugal force acting on the tire increases and it would tend to push the tire outwards that is the entire tire would be contacting the ground. Thus the contact patch of the tire is made to be continuously variable i.e. the contact patch of the tire on the road surface will be lesser when the vehicle is moving at a lower speed and it will increase when the speed of the vehicle increases. This concept of tire achieves better fuel economy at lower speeds and increased performance at higher speeds. Key words: Automobile Tire, Fuel Efficiency, Hybrid Tire, Rolling Resistance, Vehicle Dynamics, Vehicle Handling, Vehicle Safety. Cite this Article: Kavin Raja G, Karthik R and Mohammed Hashiq M. Varying Contact Automotive Pneumatic Tire, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, 6(10), 2015, pp. 232-242. http://www.iaeme.com/currentissue.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=6&IType=10