Smithers holds tyre symposium in China

Rubber, plastics and composites testing company Smithers Rapra recently held its first Tire Technology Symposium in China. According to the research and testing firm, the event brought together about 70 members of the Chinese tyre industry to share technical knowledge, regulatory expertise and business insight. The symposium covered the industry supply chain, including automotive OEMs, tyre manufacturers and retailers.

James Popio, vice president of Smithers Rapra’s North American operations, presented a history of force and moment testing and commented: “These measurements are made to allow vehicle makers (OEMs) to ride and drive tyres in the virtual world. In addition, it allows them to do chassis, control and suspension design. For automotive OEMs and tyre manufacturers alike, understanding how tyre dynamics change with different driving conditions provides key data that can be used for performance measurements and is essential to creating tyre models.”

Other sessions included tyre modelling, regulations, rolling resistance testing and data analysis were conducted.

Smithers Rapra operates tyre testing facilities in the US, China and the UK along with a winter proving ground for tyre traction testing in Michigan.