Trelleborg, global developer and supplier of tires and complete wheel solutions for the agricultural industry, will launch ProgressiveTraction technology. A concept tire will feature the new technology at Agritechnica 2013 taking place from November 10 to 16 in Hannover, Germany.
After two years of intensive numeric simulations as well as indoor and outdoor testing, Trelleborg’s ProgressiveTraction technology has been applied to a 650/65R38 agricultural tire for the first time. The new tread has a completely different face, its double lug being the key highlight of the new tire solution.
Piero Mancinelli, R&D Director, Trelleborg Agricultural and Forestry Tires, says,: “When it comes to innovation for farming, this new concept tire is a tangible example of Trelleborg’s ability to think out of the box when searching for new solutions that upgrade the performance of radial agricultural tire, lifting them to new standards.
“The new generation of tractors and transmissions continuously offer farmers more power and torque. To cope with these requirements, agricultural tires have been growing both in terms of width and overall diameter, becoming larger and larger. The ambition of ProgressiveTraction technology is to increase tire efficiency and performance by simultaneously working on the tire’s dimension while re-engineering the traditional tread.”
The new tread of the ProgressiveTraction tire is characterized by a special double lug that operates on the soil at different times, progressively releasing higher traction when and where it is needed. The double lug also provides the tire with better floatation capability, ensuring an even pressure distribution over the extra wide footprint.
The ProgressiveTraction project is now in its final phase. ProgressiveTraction prototypes are continuing to undergo a variety of indoor and outdoor field tests to measure and benchmark product performance, both in the field and on the road. The first results have exceeded initial expectations.
During the latest field tests, ProgressiveTraction tires demonstrated a traction capacity over 10% higher when compared to standard technology tires. Moreover, the extra pulling force resulted in a three to five percent reduction of working time, providing farming operations with substantial cost savings.
In addition, depending on the tractor and its tire configuration, higher floatation results in better pressure distribution on the ground, boosting the yield of crops while preserving soil from compaction and erosion.
On the road, the new lug structure is specifically designed to reduce tread vibrations, limiting the tire’s rolling resistance. Fuel consumption, driver comfort, and handling as well as the tire’s wear resistance, will benefit significantly from the change in tread. In fact, ProgressiveTraction technology will reduce the overall environmental footprint of the Trelleborg products.
A ProgressiveTraction prototype will be showcased on the Trelleborg stand during the Agritechnica exhibition and will compete for the Agritechnica Innovation award.
“We invite farming professionals to our stand to touch and become acquainted with our latest innovation. Feedback will be welcomed to help shape the future of this new tire concept. According to the Trelleborg Blue Dimension approach, our goal is to have the ProgressiveTraction concept applied to our tire range soon, to offer farming higher efficiency and productivity with the maximum respect of the environment,” concludes Mancinelli.
