Tire-Makers Claim Tire Abrasion Doesn’t Inflict Harm on Human Health
World-known tire-makers has carried out a series of tests to prove that micro-elements emerging from tire abrasion is safe for human health as well as for environment in general. Neither inhaling these elements from air nor their quantity in soil and water is dangerous for their level lies below toxicity line.
The so-called Tire Industry Project (TIP) gathered Bridgestone, Continental, Cooper, Goodyear, Hankook, Kumho, Michelin, Pirelli, Sumitomo, and Toyo automotive manufacturers to work under the idea of healthy environment. Its aim is to reveal and eliminate potential harmful influence of the materials used in tire production. The project runs under the auspices of the WBCSD while the TIP participants are in charge of 70 per cent of the world tire industry.
After the elements disposed into soil and water were tested the researchers dealt with air toxicity to find out that there’s no harm in inhaling tire abrasive elements. The results have also shown that tire wear doesn’t inflict harm on the environment for the concentration of micro-elements in soil and water is too low to become dangerous for human health.
The tests were carried out in the Seine river basin in France, in the Jodo basin in Japan as well as in Chipsake gulf in the USA.
The TIP participants are also looking forward to the use of nanotechnologies in tire production. It can partly solve ecological problems alongside with bringing benefit to end consumers. For instance, innovative nanomaterials can enhance modern passenger and truck vehicles’ fuel efficiency and hence reduce the amount of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
Moreover, the TIP community actively promotes new schemes of worn tire utilization and their recycling and further use.
Michelin Bibendum Knows Everything You Need
Michelin site users have been recently provided with an interesting option. Now they can talk with the company’s symbol “in private.” The symbol, a funny character called Bibendum, can answer any of your questions connected with the company’s history, the stages of its formation and development as well as can tell you the news of the company.
Michelin Man speaks English and French, both being the company’s official languages. He can not only speak about the company but also helps the customers effectively use the site and find all the necessary information.
Bibendum has been Michelin symbol since 1898. The company claims that there’s nobody who can give you more info about Michelin, its history, department and plants. The system works on the base of artificial intellect and is capable of self-education, which means that it “learns” with every new talk session.
The chat bot was created in collaboration with French VirtuOz company specializing in smart virtual advisers and the Cartoche organization dealing with video interfaces. Bibendum developers maintain that it is a more advanced system in comparison with its counterparts. The main argument for it is a talk length. In general bots can speak with you for three minutes while Bibendum will talk with you for as much as seven minutes.
Michelin are proud of the fact that Bibendum is appreciated by a number of people all over the world and many of them like to engage into a friendly talk with him. Moreover, the customers can ask him questions about his “private life,” hobbies and interests and, of course, eating habits.
American Garbage Trucks to Be Equipped with New Michelin Tires
Michelin US department launches new garbage truck tire. The company took into account all the peculiarities of city jungle to make wear resistant tire that can be also repeatedly retreaded. The new Michelin XZUS2 is exceptionally long-lived and shows 20 per cent longer mileage than that of its predecessor, the XZUS tire.
Ted Becker, MATT marketing vice-president points out that garbage trucks need the tire with reinforced sidewalls and wear-resistant tread. So the new tire shows a long life span, is subject to retreading and has all the necessary protecting elements to avoid truck downtime.
The Michelin XZUS2 is made under the Co-EX technology to combine durable rubber compound of the upper tread and heat-resistant rubber in the inner tread, thus protecting the tire casing. Moreover, the shoulders are equipped with guarding ribs while the tire features an optimized bead construction, which allows for numerous retreading operations.
Michelin XZUS2 is available in 315/80R22.5 size only.
Michelin XZUS2 tech specs:
- Four-rib tread prolongs the tire life span by 20 per cent;
- Co-EX technology of two-layer tread, the outer one being wear-resistant while the inner one is heat-resistant;
- Optimized bead construction helps avoid deformation under high temperatures during braking operations;
- Reinforced sidewalls and shoulder areas help avoid tire damage.
Michelin Leaves Space Ship Production
For three decades already Michelin was producing aircraft tires named Michelin Air for NASA space program that launches “Atlantis” shuttles. The company was the permanent supplier of space ship tires over these years.
Not long time ago the world saw the historic start of the “Atlantis” shuttle that was the last space ship of its kind to leave the Earth. All in all, there were 135 space flights during the 30-year term, with all the shuttles having been equipped with Michelin tires only.
Michelin “space” tires underwent lots of all-rounded tests to provide for the real safety when a shuttle lands at a speed of 250 mph. But what is really surprising? Space tires are not that different from standard truck tires! At the same time, shuttle tires can resist load thrice as high as that of Boeing 7474.
Each space shuttle needs six tires, four for the main undercarriage and two for the front one. They are inflated with nitrogen that works stable under temperature fluctuations. The main tires are subject to maximum load and are used only once while front tires can resist two landings.
Since weight is of the greatest importance here, Michelin worked out tires with the shallowest tread possible to reduce weight and thus increase carrying capacity of a shuttle.
Twelve days after the start of the last “Atlantis” Michelin will secure its safe landing for the last time. Three shuttles still remain, but they will be written off and spend their lives in a museum. However, we hope that Michelin doesn’t leave space ship industry completely and will continue working in this area in future.
