Rubber Journal Asia Tyre Sector
Tyres in the sky The “disappearance” of the Malaysian
Ty r e m aintenance hile experts debate on what ex a c t l y c a u s e d the mishap on Malaysia’s flags h i p c a r r i e r , t he incident has spark ed a wak e-up c a l l f o r t h e aviat ion indust ry . Not only are t he av a i l a bl e t echnolog ies for t he sect or b eing pu t un d er scrut iny , b ut lik ewise t he qualit y of a i rc ra f t maint enance is also b eing hig hlig ht e d . Ty res, which b ear t he full load of t h e aircraft especially during landing , seem t o be a fact or in t he list of common causes o f a v i a t i o n disast ers. There have b een incidence s o f bl ow outs or burning tyres in airplanes, c a u s i n g loss of pressure, hydraulic failure, s t r u c t u r a l damage and loss of aircraft control. D u r i n g taxiing, tyres must provide a stable, c u s h i o n e d ride while resist ing heat g enerat ion, a bra si o n and wear. At take-off, the tyre struc t u r e m u s t be able to endure not only the aircra f t l o a d but also the forces generated at high a n g u l a r velocit ies. Landing requires t he t y re t o a bsorb impact shock s while also t ransmit t in g h i gh dy namic b rak ing loads t o t he g round . A l l of t h i s must b e accomplished while providi n g a l o n g, dependable, reliable, service life. Thus, an important part of aircraf t maintenance is that tyres should be c h e c k e d f o r cy cles, pressure check s and underg o regul a r maint enance inspect ions. Just lik e t h e a ut omo t i v e sect or where proper air pressure ma i n t en a n c e is a must for t y res, even for an airline i t i s required t o achieve opt imum perform a n c e o f i t s tyres. It not only enhances the tyre l i f e , l a n d i n g performance b ut also schedule reliabi l i t y. Not only airplane tyres are vulner a b l e t o cruising risk s. According t o t he 2012 repo rt undert ak en b y t he US Natio nal Hig h w a y T ra ffi c Saf ety Adm inistr atio n (NHTSA) on t y r e - r e l a t e d pre-crash fact ors, “t y res should b e in go od condition, in order for a vehicle to h a n d l e s a f e l y and t o use fuel economically .” It stresses that regular monitoring a s w e l l as maint enance of vehicle t y res can prev en t road disasters such as what tyre blo w o u t s o r failure (due t o under or over inflat io n , bel ow recommended pressure or inadequat e t r e a d dept h). What t hese challeng es conclud e i s t h a t tyres must be maintained.
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Airlines Boeing 777 on 8 March 2014 has provoked several possibilities. While not connected, this incident highlights that maintenance of aircraft tyres is important. Aviation tyres represent another small but high margin niche market, since it is also the most technically demanding, with the tyres on commercial jets having to sustain loads similar to large earthmovers, but at speeds more common to Formula 1 racing cars. Even so, there are three separate markets, each with specific and different requirements: commercial, military and general aviation, says Angelica Buan in this article.
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i r t r a n spo r t has s hown c ons is ten t growt h f o r mo r e t h an 50 years . H owever, there a r e i n c r e a si n g p res s u res on th e ind us try, wit h c h a n g e s i n i t s s truc tu re and th e c om p os it ion o f it s f l e e t s. T h is will in evitably affec t the d e m a n d f o r t y r es in terms of quantity and, m o r e i m po r t a n t ly, d es ign q u ality. N e v e r t h e l e s s, headed for a brighter horizon, m a r k e t a n a l y st s s u gges t that the global aircraft t y r e m a r k e t i s p ois ed for growth. Ma r k e t r e se arc h firm L u c in tel’s forecast for t h e i n du st r y t h rou gh 2020 s ugges ts m oderat e gr o w t h o f 3 . 2 % th at is ex p ec ted to reac h an e s ti m a t e d US $ 1.1 billion d uring the p eri od. It s a y s t h a t a n i n c reas ed d elivery of c om mercial, m i l i t a r y a n d g eneral airc raft will s p ur the d e ma n d, l e d a l so by th e rep lac em en t in dust ry . T h e r e po r t e x p lain s th at c om m erc ial airline p a sse n g e r t r a f f ic is ex p ec ted to grow over t he n e x t 2 0 y e a r s t o 1.3 billion by 2030, yielding gr o w t h o f l a n ding an d take-off p lan es , which c o n s e q u e n t l y will increase demand for aircraft t y r e s du e t o w ear an d tear.
Taking a lo o k inside an air cr af t ty r e ircraft tyres fall into two distinc t t echnolog ies: b ias (also k nown a s c ross pl y) and radial. Bias and radial tyres are s i g n i f i c a n t l y
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MARCH / APRIL 2014
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