Goodyear testing at ERDC-CRREL

Goodyear high-tech truck

6 Jan 06 -- Hanover, N.H. -- One of the world's best known tire manufacturers is putting a new spin on the Ice Engineering Facility at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center's (ERDC) Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL).

A team of Goodyear engineers arrived in Hanover this month for testing tire traction capabilities in medium pack snow produced in the large research area cold room. The lab is capable of making snow and keeping it at a frosty 10 degrees Fahrenheit for the three day test period. The test area contains more than 1300 cubic feet of man-made snow. Ice engineering staff built a 20' by 80' test pad, upon which Goodyear engineers drove a specialized Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck. The truck is outfitted with a wealth of high-tech computerized sensing equipment, measuring and recording driving traction data from the tires. 

CRREL's Leonard Zabilansky, research engineer, says, "It is the first time we conducted snow mobility testing inside a cold room using a vehicle at CRREL. The testing itself is quite novel, but we're able to control the environment and the quality of snow, which reduces the number of testing variables." 

Goodyear technology adviser Terry Ruip noted the process of designing, testing and marketing tires has evolved from a two-and-a-half year process into 12-18 months, so manufacturers are seeking test facilities that can accommodate winter testing any time of the year.  

CRREL engineers produced and maintained a snow base for Goodyear tire traction testing

 

"We need year-round snow and ice tire testing capabilities, because the whole tire development cycle is so compressed now," said Ruip.  

"We've got to make sure our testing meets American Society of Testing and Materials standard F1805, which is driving traction on snow and ice covered surfaces, both inside and outside, so we're evaluating facilities where this objective can be achieved," he said.  

The primary goal of Goodyear's current testing in Hanover is to establish base-line data that can be compared to results from other tests, especially those in real snow. Goodyear and other manufacturers have traveled to such far-flung places as New Zealand to get winter weather test results in summer months, but utilizing a lab like CRREL's Ice Engineering Facility might make more sense logistically and financially.  

Ruip came up with the idea of using the lab when he visited the Hanover site earlier this year to learn more about snow modeling and vehicle mobility research conducted by CRREL staff. 

"It caught my eye," says Ruip, who was given a facility tour after reviewing CRREL research data. 

Goodyear typically tests hundreds of new tire designs and compounds every year.

CRREL is one of seven laboratories that make up the ERDC. The ERDC is the premier research and development facility for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with more than 2,000 employees, $1.2 billion in facilities, and an annual research program approaching $700 million. It conducts research in both military and civil works mission areas for the Department of Defense and the nation. CRREL is the only Department of Defense Laboratory addressing problems and opportunities unique to the world's cold regions. Located in Hanover, N.H., CRREL also has field offices in Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska.