Trelleborg a partner in South Pole tractor expedition

(Trelleborg Wheel Systems S.p.A. photo)
'Antarctica 2014' is a 1,560-mile expedition to the South Pole that will feature a Massey Ferguson tractor running on Trelleborg tires and rims.

TIVOLI, Italy (Oct. 27, 2014) — Trelleborg Wheel Systems S.p.A. will be an official partner for a Massey Ferguson tractor expedition to the South Pole in November.

“Antarctica 2014” is a 1,560-mile expedition that will feature “Tractor Lady” Manon Ossevoort driving a MF 5600 tractor to the South Pole with a team of polar specialists.

Trelleborg said it developed a special multi-purpose set of complete wheels, both tires and rims for the expedition to enable the MF 5600 tractor to survive the severe weather conditions of the Antarctic.

“We decided to join Massey Ferguson in this adventure because the demanding conditions of Antarctica require flotation at extremely low pressure, grip and traction as well as reduced fuel consumption. The conditions require the ultimate degree of performance from agricultural tires and rims, taking the level of tire performance to the absolute extreme,” said Piero Mancinelli, R&D director agricultural and forestry tires at Trelleborg Wheel Systems.

“To cope with diverse ice and snow conditions varying from low to extremely low temperatures, tires need to boost grip through ultra-deflection of the carcass and widening the footprint as much as possible, at very low pressures. This, coupled with being well fixed with zero-slippage on the rim, reduces fuel consumption as well as securing reliability and comfort over the long run. In other words, a ‘super agricultural' tire and rim was required,” he said.

“As such, we want the performance of our tires on the expedition to prove the great potential of our ultimate technology in even the most severe environments on earth. This will enable us to learn and leverage this know-how for the new generations of farming tires.”

Stringent testing of standard agricultural tires conducted by Trelleborg and Massey Ferguson engineers found that due to the adverse weather conditions and harsh environment of Antarctica, fuel consumption and required traction performances would provide significant challenges, the tire maker said.

“With these specific challenges in mind, we turned to our innovative ProgressiveTraction tire, which is characterized by a special double lug that operates on the ground at different times, progressively releasing higher traction when and where required. The double lug also provides the tire with better floatation capability at low pressure,” Mr. Mancinelli said.

Trelleborg engineers opted to adapt the tread pattern of the ProgressiveTraction tire by reducing the height and rounding tread at the shoulder to make the tire better suited to run on soft ground reflective of that to be experienced in Antarctica. A unique carcass design capable of performing at a pressure as low as 4.2 psi was developed while a special tread shape and surface was implemented to provide the required grip, Trelleborg said. The company also developed a special rim profile to ensure safe bead position to prevent slippage and rim roll-off.

For more information on the tires developed for the expedition, Trelleborg has posted a video at YouTube.

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