NCMS Project #: 142316
Problem: Current on/off road heavier truck tires are unsuited for safe winter use, leading to many accidents compromising the public welfare, and needlessly exposing personnel to dangerous operating conditions. For the Department of Defense (DOD), these same concerns exist with heavy on/off road trucks. The need exists to reduce seasonal tire changes, increase safety through traction and maneuverability, and decrease collateral crash damages such as environmental mitigation due to spills.
Benefit: The project supports a tangible, scalable, & validated winter tire solution that can be applied across a wide variety of commercial and government vehicles whereas providing durable competitive advantage benefit and new markets for the critical domestic tire & rubber industry.
Solution/Approach: This initiative will improve safety for heavy on/off road heavier trucks through increased tire mobility performance on ice and in snow or slush of varied depths from ambient winter temperatures of -50°F to 40°F while still being appropriate for use in temperatures up to 120°F during warmer months. The desired outcome is to fill an existing technology gap and successfully test and demonstrate new cutting-edge innovative winter rated tire technologies that enhance capability during freezing months, whilst also maintaining all-season capability & overall performance characteristics.
Impact on Warfighter:
- Enhance warfighter safety and readiness
- Increase vehicle performance and controllability
- Decrease maintenance and sustainment costs
DOD Participation:
- U.S. Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC), Ground Vehicle Power and Mobility (GVPM), Tires Track & Suspension (TTS) Tires Division
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research & Development Center (ERDC)
- U.S. Army Alaska (USARAK)
- U.S. Army Program Executive Office (PEO) Combat Support & Combat Service Support (CS&CSS)
Industry Participation:
- Michelin North America, Government and Defense Division
- NCMS
Benefit Area(s):
- Cost savings
- Mx avoidance & reliability
- Safety
- Improved readiness
- Survivability
- Reliability improvement
Mx Focus Area:
- Reliability Improvement (Hardware)
