Phase II I/UCRC Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: Center for Tire Research (CenTiRe)

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The Center for Tire Research (CenTiRe) is a collaboration between NSF, Virginia Tech and the University of Akron with Virginia Tech as the lead site. The Center?s Mission is to improve road transportation safety by understanding the complex interactions between the tire, road surface and the vehicle, and then applying this knowledge to improve tire materials, manufacturing, simulation and testing methods. This mission is broadly supported with complementary expertise from companies in the vehicle, tire, materials, and testing fields. To support this mission, the Virginia Tech site will conduct and disseminate innovative research and solutions in tire and vehicle modeling and simulation tools, tire-road interaction characterization and modeling (force and moment modeling, friction and wear, noise, and vibration), related test equipment development, and intelligent tire system and the University of Akron will provide innovative industrial research in tire materials, material models, simulation tools, test equipment, and manufacturing methods. This recent award enables CenTiRe to move into Phase 2. The Center is proud to promote the progress of science by directly supporting the education and training of a diverse group of graduate and undergraduate students.With the advancements made in vehicle as well as road design, the demand on tire performance has increased tremendously in the past few years. Therefore, the need for fundamental and applied research for the tire industry has increased significantly. The Center for Tire Research (CenTiRe) has the objective to conduct and disseminate innovations in tire science and technology through conducting research and finding solutions for new materials, models, simulation tools, test equipment, and manufacturing methods. Since Virginia Tech (VT) is globally known for tire and vehicle engineering, VT will conduct research to better understand tire performance through model development, simulation and testing. This includes but is not limited to: tire and vehicle dynamic modeling using physics-based, experiment-based and finite element methods; tire-road interaction modeling for friction, wear and noise; intelligent tire development for tire health monitoring; road profiling and friction estimation; and some innovative materials development for enhanced tire performance. The University of Akron is globally known for its polymer science and engineering, and makes its strongest contribution in the field of materials development, modeling, simulation, and testing. Specifically: analyzing rubber-filler interactions, new materials design, tire noise minimization, materials fracture and sustainability testing as well as development of constitutive laws for materials. The developed technologies from these two universities within CenTiRe will aim at improving tire traction properties, fuel economy, environmental impact, as well as functional performances such as handling, ride, noise, and wear. Cars and trucks play a major role in our nation's economy. Therefore, the demand for engineers and scientists who are highly knowledgeable in tire technology will significantly grow in the future. Both Virginia Tech and the University of Akron have been well known as institutions which provide a well-trained workforce for our relevant industries by providing rigorous training for our undergraduate and graduate students as well as seminars and industrial courses for life-long learners in the field. Therefore, CenTiRe, and more specifically Virginia Tech and the University of Akron, have developed a rigorous training process which includes analytical as well as hands-on research plus several graduate level courses which will help the students find positions within the member companies after graduation.