The use of Kevlar increases puncture resistance in farm tires. So says a new study by Eldib Engineering & Research Inc.
The study focuses on the use of Kevlar in off-the-road tire construction. The tires were tested in conditions ranging from thorny terrain to everyday highway driving.
"Genetically engineered crops have created a new problem to growers of corn and soybean," says Dr. Andrew Eldib. "These higher yielding crops come with tougher stalks, puncturing tires leaving farm tractors with flat tires and costing growers big expenses."
(Kevlar has been used successfully in light truck tire sidewall construction for years. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. even markets its two-year-old Wrangler M/TR as "with Kevlar.")
Eldib says there are no estimates of the number of tires with Kevlar-reinforced sidewalls. It is possible that other makers of para-aramid (such as Teijin Ltd. which produces Twaron, may enter this market."
However, while there have been recent references in the press about the use of DuPont’s Kevlar to reinforce sidewalls of ag tires, there has been no mention of using Twaron in tires, he adds.
Eldib Engineering & Research market researchers believe that para-aramids will present a big new market in agricultural tractor tires for producers of para-aramids.
Eldib Engineering is based in Berkeley Heights, N.J. For more information on the study, contact Dr. Eldib by email ([email protected]) or telephone (908-263-7048).
DuPont and Kevlar are trademarks of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.
