Tire temperature prediction during post-cure inflation

Temperature distribution is predicted as the tire cools during post-cure inflation. A finite element transient heat transfer analysis is employed, with appropriate material conduction and convection coefficients determined from lab experiments. Initial temperatures to apply to the tire model were determined from measurements on a range of tire sizes. Measurements were also made during and at the end of the post-cure inflation cycle for comparison with the predicted values. Reasonable agreement is seen between the predicted temperatures and the population of measured tire values.