HANOVER, Germany — Bridgestone Corp. has developed a tire- and road-wear particle (TRWP) collection system it claims will help it enhance its understanding of the environmental impact of tire particle emissions.
Presented during the Tire Technology Conference in Hanover in early March, the method involves isolating tires by a device that covers the entire tire to eliminate the influence of exhaust emissions and brake dust.
On average are the size of a human hair (100 µm), TRWP form a complex mixture comprising, in equal parts, a combination of tire rubber and minerals and other road elements.
Bridgestone's system uses a suction hose to collected the particles for further analysis. The Tokyo-based tire maker carried out a series of tests at its B-Mobility proving ground in Tokyo using autonomous driving to eliminate human error to collect the particles.
Furthermore, Bridgestone said it "visualized" the dispersion of particles using a high-speed camera with laser light scattering, enabling it to further study the emissions.
The efficient collection of TRWP, Bridgestone said, will help it accelerate research and development and enhance its understanding of the physical and chemical characteristics of particles.
The company stressed that its efforts in this area are in line with research being carried out through the Tire Industry Project, a WHAT that operates under the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Bridgestone's announcement follows by a year a disclosure by Group Michelin that it had developed its own "light particle" analysis system for studying TRWP. Michelin said then that its technology makes it possible to "capture, sort, count and qualify particles as close as possible to the tires with high levels of precision and reproducibility."