Project Description:

The overall goal of this project is to establish a nanoscale, mechanics-based understanding of wear and fatigue processes that govern tire durability and service life, and to translate this understanding into design-relevant guidance for durable tire compound development. (Figure 1).

 
_{Figure 1. Nanoscale wear mechanisms governing tire durability. The figure illustrates how crack initiation, viscoelastic dissipation, and filler–polymer debonding at the nanoscale control wear progression and service life, informing durability-focused tire compound design.}

Tire durability and service life are governed by nanoscale mechanical damage processes that occur within tread compounds during repeated tire–road contact. These processes include crack initiation, viscoelastic fatigue, filler–polymer debonding, and localized energy dissipation. Conventional durability evaluations rely on bulk abrasion testing and full-scale wear trials, which provide performance rankings but do not resolve the mechanistic origins of material degradation.

This project develops a mechanics-based approach to durable tire design by using atomic force microscopy (AFM) as a controlled nanoscale tribological tool to directly generate and measure wear under well-defined loading, shear, and temperature conditions. AFM enables direct observation and quantification of damage initiation at the scale where wear originates, allowing durability to be addressed at its physical root rather than through empirical correlation.

Outputs:

The project will produce:
•    AFM-resolved nanoscale wear and fatigue measurements for representative tire compounds.
•    Quantitative identification of damage initiation thresholds under controlled mechanical loading.
•    Mechanistic understanding of filler–polymer interactions that govern wear resistance and fatigue life.
•    Design-relevant durability parameters that complement standard abrasion and wear tests.
•    Peer-reviewed publications and technical documentation supporting durable tire compound development.

Outcomes/Impacts: 

The primary outcome of this research is a mechanics-informed framework for durable tire design. By resolving wear processes at the nanoscale, the project enables material optimization strategies that directly target crack suppression, fatigue resistance, and controlled energy dissipation within tread compounds.
These outcomes support the development of longer-lasting, more reliable tires, reducing maintenance frequency and improving the durability of transportation infrastructure. The results provide tire manufacturers and transportation stakeholders with actionable insight that bridges nanoscale material behavior and macroscopic durability performance.