Determining the end of the life span of tires does not depend on knowing the distance traveled or on a simple calculation that can be performed easily. Rather, it is a complex decision based on an in-depth analysis of what causes tires to determine and wear by understanding the method of wear of the chemical and physical engineering components that make up these tires. The tire is the only engineering compound that connects trucks to the road, making it one of the most important strategic parts in trucks in particular and vehicles in general, which means understanding its mechanism of operation and how to maintain it. Its safety is a vital factor that cannot be tolerated in any way, especially in logistics fleets. For large trucks that operate non-stop around the clock, the risk of tire explosion is much greater than other independent trucks, while the danger remains as sudden tire failure means terrible accidents and has serious consequences. Therefore, it is necessary to understand that wear and wear are one part compared to the part taken by the life span of tires, which consists of the age of the chemical and physical components from which the tire was made, which of course work in direct reactions to weather, humidity, heat and road stiffness, which means a decrease in the efficiency of tires over the expiration of their life.
We must understand that tires are a composite engineering system consisting of several overlapping layers of rubber (polymers), steel belts, and reinforcing fabrics. This complex structure means that any weakness in one layer can threaten the integrity of the entire structure. These tires, like any polymer product, are subject to unavoidable chemical reactions that never stop, whether used on a daily basis or stored in warehouses designed for tires. This chemical analysis poses the challenge of longevity apart from kilometers traveled. Therefore, failure can start chemically in rubber compounds and end structurally with the separation of the tread from the tire and the steel base. It is considered the most dangerous scenario, so a linear change that depends only on the depth of the tread cannot be practical in determining the life span of the tires.
Therefore, we must deal with multi-factor thinking for public safety management, because if the user relies only on the thickness of the thread, he will be surprised by changes related to chemical corrosion and the expiration of the life of the tire, making it vulnerable to unexpected disasters. Otherwise, if the driver or the logistics officer relies on a multi-factor system that actually measures tire life while coordinating wear and actual life, with joint coordination in maintenance cases and tracking the quality of tire work after it in order to know and avoid expected risks, while determining the appropriate time to change tires before the expectation of the maximum life or severe erosion.
The life span of tires is not the depth of the tread, but the extent to which synthetic materials can withstand
Chemical aging of rubber
The aging of tires, technically known as the degradation of polymers, is an inevitable process that begins the moment the tires are manufactured and leave the factory. This process escalates due to exposure to the surrounding environmental factors, the most important of which are heat, oxygen, ozone and ultraviolet rays. This determination is not just a superficial matter but a chemical reaction that leads to the breaking of the molecular bonds of rubber, making it gradually lose its elasticity and become more fragile.
Corrosion and aging begin with ozone gas, which is found naturally in the planet's atmosphere. It is one of the most destructive factors for the quality of tires. Ozone gas is much more active than oxygen and directly attacks the double bonds available in unsaturated rubber compounds. This reaction, known as “ozonolysis”, breaks the molecular chains of rubber and leads to microcracks on the surface of tires. This process starts from the surface and goes inside. Under constant conditions, a solid, silver-white film forms on the surface that lacks flexibility and can prevent deep contact between ozone gas and internal rubber at the beginning However, this protective film is susceptible to breakdown under mechanical stress. When the tire is subject to dynamic tension while driving or is deformed due to low air pressure, the hard film formed on the surface cracks, exposing new internal rubber to interact with ozone. This continuous interaction directly leads to the growth and deepening of cracks inside the tires, especially in the sidewalls of the tires. These cracks that develop from the outside to the inside weaken the internal structure of the tire in the long term. This may eventually lead to the separation of the steel belts from the base of the tire, which represents the peak of the shape Chemist and Structural.
Dry mold and visual signs of aging
The visible and superficial identification of tires is called “Dry Rot” or what is also called “lateral weathering”. It is of course a direct result of oxidation processes and intensive exposure to ultraviolet rays through exposure of tires to the sun for long periods. Visual signs of dry rot appear in several clear pictures indicating the loss of the most important safety and security characteristics of the tire, including cracks on the sidewalls that may start with small sizes and then gradually deepen to reveal the inner layers of the tire. However, the color of the rubber also changes to become more dull or gray, instead of the original deep black color. It clearly indicates the surface oxidation of the tires, as well as the texture of the tires, which become hard, Brittle and lose elasticity, which fully indicates their inability to continue working and traveling on commercial roads, while being unable to deal with the great pressure caused by the weight of the truck and the cargo, as well as the bumps and rough roads that may face the path of transporting goods through trucks. That's why I worked Darbek Tire Company It is based in Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to select the best tire manufacturing materials and combine them with smart engineering that makes tires more resistant in the hot and changing environment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The chemical aging of tires is much more dangerous than wear!
To address this chemical phenomenon, tire manufacturers incorporate antioxidant chemical compounds that act as rubber stabilizers. They are divided into primary antioxidants, which prevent the formation of free radicals for oxidation, and secondary antioxidants that react with existing free radicals. This complex chemistry significantly slows the process of tire breakdown, the disruption of its chemical compounds and poor rubber quality, while improving resistance to the effects of ozone gas. However, these chemical compounds cannot extend the life of virtual tires. They slow down the process of consumption and disruption but do not eliminate it, noting that tires that remain They are inactive for long periods, whether they are spare tires or in the warehouses allocated to them, they are faster to grow and penetrate dry mold than tires that operate and rotate periodically. This is because the protective oils injected into the inside of the tires come out to the surface due to centrifugal forces. While the tires remain stable, these oils and chemicals remain trapped in the tire and leave the surface exposed to dry rot, corrosion, ozone cracking and other tire consumption factors that we have always warned of.
What is the impact of the operating environment on tire life?
Tires usually operate in many different operating environments that have different types of pressures and changes. However, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the most dominant effect on tires remains high temperatures, which are among the most important tributes of tire aging. Studies show that tires that operate in a warm temperature environment significantly reduce their life span, because heat is not considered an environmental factor but is a powerful motor catalyst that doubles the rates of determination of the materials from which tires are made. As is known, materials are measured by tensile strength and impact based on temperature. Flexibility, for example, may increase It is abnormal due to high temperatures in the work environment. On the engineering side, heat also increases the rates of chemical aging in polymeric and rubber materials. These materials may begin to collapse and break down significantly above 85 degrees Celsius, exposing the truck and the driver to danger and significantly reducing the level of safety.
The dynamics of air pressure and the ability of tires to stretch:
This is one of the most serious direct effects of high temperature in the dynamics of air pressure inside the tires. This effect depends on the physical principles of gases. When the temperature rises, the air and gas particles inside the tire move faster and expand to take up more space, leading to a higher internal pressure of the tire. Therefore, the general rule recommended by experts and technicians is that tire pressure rises by about 0.1 bar or 2PSI for every increase of 10 degrees Celsius in the ambient temperature, which means a direct increase in tire pressure with increasing temperatures, which is due to a combination of friction and temperature factors. Therefore, if this change is not monitored and the pressure is adjusted according to operating requirements in the event of cold and immobility of the truck The temperature rise and the resulting additional pressure may cause The tires to swell excessively, which will remove the inner fabric of the tire and make it susceptible to collapse and explosion easily, in addition to vibrations and the lack of shock absorption resulting from this, which weakens the control of the steering wheel and makes the suspension system great under pressure exposing us to other technical problems, especially with its integration at high speed on external and international roads.
Heat and catastrophic failure with statistics:
Traffic statistics confirm that there is a close link between high temperatures and tire explosion accidents. Analytical data on tire explosion accidents have shown that their rates increase during the hot summer months such as July and August. These statistics indicate that accidents are worse in the hottest period of the day, specifically from 2 pm to 5 pm. Most of these accidents occur on foreign commercial roads, where trucks travel at high speeds, which doubles the generation of internal friction as well as the increasing air temperature, which constantly rises with the exposure of tires to sunlight and wind. Therefore, this strong relationship shows that drivers in desert climates a face triple complex challenge: the first is the increase in the temperature of the area and the climate, therefore this strong relationship shows that drivers in desert climates a face triple complex challenge: the first is the increase in the temperature of the area and the climate, therefore the second increase in the temperature of the asphalt surface, which increases the temperature of the tires, and the third Is the increase in the temperature due to friction on the road due to fast driving. Therefore, we have an internal and external increase in the temperature of the tires, which contributes significantly to an increase in the aging rate of the internal materials of the tire and thus makes the components more susceptible to disruption and cracking, which leads tragically to failure, explosion or disruption of the tire.
What are the temporary and legislative controls for the life of the default frame?
Determining the maximum life of tires is characterized by different global recommendations issued by leading manufacturers in the field and competent bodies, with mandatory restrictions imposed by regional, governmental and international regulatory bodies, especially in harsh environments, construction sites and projects. This difference is a crucial point for consumers in the Middle East region in general and Saudi Arabia in particular, so we will come to each side separately.
Global perspective and international recommendations: Major international tire companies and international tire organizations adopt the 10-year rule, as the maximum period of time in which tires can be allowed to operate on roads, with recommendations that require the replacement of tires if they are not consumed within ten years in order to avoid chemical problems and internal reactions that may not appear on tires clearly, making them time bombs that may not occur at any moment and may cause Disaster on commercial highways. This maximum age is due to the validity of the integration of the chemical compounds that make up tires, which lose their ability to link significantly after this duration, making tires less efficient and more dangerous on commercial roads.
Regional perspective and recommendations in the Middle East: Despite the recommendations of Western countries for ten years, countries in the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf have adopted the five-year rule as a result of studies of the effects of the environment and climate on the quality of tires. It has become known that high temperatures significantly increase the aging of tires and make them susceptible to disruption and explosion. The five-year limit is strict, mandatory and comprehensive for the storage period. In the United Arab Emirates, drivers are required to replace their car tires produced five years ago, even if they do not wear out. This difference and difference between controls is not an arbitrary disruption but a direct response to the reality that we live in a region where temperatures are very high, because the environment in which the tires operate creates a great thermal stress on the tires. Therefore, these five years are very sufficient for tires in their operating environment. Therefore, drivers should understand and apply these laws without violation in order to avoid accidents involving tire explosion or separation from its internal structure.
Sales and storage standards in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: In terms of quality management and ensuring public road safety, the Saudi Organization for Standardization, Metrology and Quality (SASO) has set standards related to the circulation period of tires. These standards recommend that the storage period of a tire before selling it to the consumer should not exceed two years from the date of production. This control ensures that consumers that the tire offered for sale still maintains its efficiency and ability to work, while maintaining the safety of its chemical compounds.
Tires are not just rubber rings but are a double-edged sword that needs appropriate care to perform its task
How do we extend the life of a tire?
It is not possible to stop the chemical determination of tires due to the endless continuation of reactions without an end point. However, we can slow the rate of reaction progress and extend the safe operating life of tires by adopting accurate and advanced preventive maintenance strategies. In essence, these practices are an effective management process for the thermal and mechanical energy that the tire is exposed to on a daily basis.
Accurate management of internal tire pressure:
Keeping the air pressure inside the tires at the same rate is suitable for the environment in which the truck operates is one of the most important individual factors in extending the life of a tire and ensuring public safety on the roads. Therefore, tires should be checked while they are cold and before driving the truck for more than two miles, while adhering to the recommendations recommended by the tire manufacturer.
Routine mechanical maintenance:
Mechanical maintenance plays a direct role in preventing uneven wear patterns, thus extending the operational life of the tire without significant and unmanageable wear through the process of tire rotation, which replaces the positions of tires in an analog or parallel handler, making wear equal on all tires at the same level. It is recommended to perform this procedure after every 15 thousand kilometers, in addition to the process of adjusting angles, alignment and tire balance, as these characteristics make tires uneven in natural wear and unstable in place.
In conclusion, it can be said that the life span of tires ends after five years of tire operation in hot and rough environments, in ideal cases of regular control and maintenance. If you want to buy the best truck tires in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, options are available at Darbek Tire Company, which provides and manufactures high-quality tires specifically designed to operate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in all its various environments.
