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New concept tyre converts heat energy into electricity
Tyre manufacturer Goodyear has come up with a potential cure for the range anxiety created by the limited battery capacity of electric vehicles – a tyre that generates electricity.
Revealed at the Geneva motor show this week, the BH03 concept tyre converts heat energy into electricity to charge the batteries of EVs.
Goodyear also showed a second concept tyre at Geneva containing three tubes that adjust inflation pressures in response to changing road conditions.
"We envision a future in which our products become more integrated with the vehicle and the consumer, more environmentally friendly and more versatile," said Joe Zekoski, Goodyear's senior vice president and chief technical officer.
Goodyear's reveals are the latest in a series of advances by major tyre companies including
Bridgestone's Air Free and
Michelin's Selfseal technology.
But while Michelin says the Selfseal is coming to Australia in 2016 and Bridgestone will be trialling Air Free as soon as 2017, Goodyear is offering no timeframe for production of its two tyre concepts.
Nor is it giving that much away about how the electricity generating BH03 tyre works, other than saying the action of materials in the tyre capture and transform the energy created by heat when it flexes as it rolls during normal driving conditions.
These unspecified materials are claimed to optimise the tyre's rolling resistance as well as generate electricity.
Meanwhile, the Triple Tube tyre locates tubes beneath the tread and near the inboard and outboard shoulders of the tyre as well as the centre. The tyre relies on an internal pump that moves air from the main air chamber to the three individual tubes.
The tyre automatically and independently adjusts to three different positions based on road conditions:
>> The Eco/Safety position – with maximum inflation in all three tubes – offers reduced rolling resistance.
>> The Sporty position – with reduced inflation within the inboard shoulder tube – gives drivers dry handling through an optimised contact patch.
>> The Wet Traction position – with maximized inflation in the centre tube – provides high aquaplaning resistance through a raised tread in the centre of the tyre.
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