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Fire Tires

Project Proposal for Ice-Melting Thermal Technology for Vehicle Tires for Icy Road Conditions 

Manny Chimbo

Jordy Gross

Vinuk Ranaweera

The City College of New York

ENGL 21007: Writing for Engineers

Professor A. Voisard

30 April 2020

ABSTRACT

Fire tires are tires that heat up while a vehicle is in motion in order to melt any ice present underneath and to provide stability on the roads in cold climates. With each vehicle that travels with these tires, the icy conditions are lessened, thus making it safer for drivers in such conditions. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 1,300 people are killed and 116,800 people are injured in vehicle crashes on snowy, slushy or icy pavement each year. Snowy and icy driving conditions prove to be extremely hazardous;  Fire Tires can help to reduce that risk by melting the frozen roads and eliminating those conditions as they appear. In addition, state and local agencies spend more than 2.3 billion dollars on snow and ice control operations annually. Fire Tires can thus also lead to a reduction in the amount of money spent on ice operations every year. 

Keywords: Transportation, Safety, Ice, Snow, Sleet, Frozen

INTRODUCTION

Most of us have experienced the dangers and difficulties of driving on icy roads.  Icy conditions occur in regions with freezing temperatures. In the United States, nearly 70% of the country’s roads and population are located in these snowy regions (FHA: Snow and Ice). When there is rain or snowfall that gathers on the roads, freezing climates cause the precipitation to freeze over, forming icy sheets on the roads. This ice, being slippery and lacking friction, significantly reduces the control that drivers have over their vehicles, leading to skidding and drifting that can be dangerous and potentially fatal.

Icy road due to frozen precipitation. Source: HowStuffWorks

Fire tires are tires that can be heated up while a vehicle is in motion in order to melt ice present underneath and to provide stability on the roads in cold climates. With each vehicle that travels with these tires, the icy conditions are lessened, thus making it safer for drivers in such conditions. Fire Tires aim to solve the problem of dangerous driving conditions by using vehicles to solve the problem on the roads. 

BACKGROUND

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 1,300 people are killed and 116,800 people are injured in vehicle crashes on snowy, slushy or icy pavement each year in over 20% of vehicle crashes. Although there have been various attempts at preventing  minimizing the harmful effects of icy conditions, there continue to be high quantities of weather-related vehicle accidents each year. One example of a tried solution to driving in weathered conditions is the four-wheel drive vehicle, in which all four wheels of the vehicle are provided with torque simultaneously, which is meant to provide added traction in dangerous driving conditions. However, according to a study published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, nearly half of road traffic accidents involve four-wheel drive vehicles. In addition, accidents involving four-wheel drivers are more severe than those involving smaller cars (Bener et al). These statistics can likely be attributed to the increased range of motion allowed to drivers of these types of vehicles, lulling them into a false sense of security and causing them to potentially drive evenr  more carelessly then they would otherwise. These statistics thus demonstrate that although four-wheel drive vehicles do solve problems on the icy conditions front, they present other problems in their wake.

In light of these issues, it is apparent that the solution to driving in icy conditions must be directed at changing the conditions of the roads themselves instead of the experiences of the drivers. In other words, the root of the problem must be addressed directly, not just the symptoms. One option that is often used, particularly on pedestrian walkways, is salt. Salt can be sprinkled on cement so as to prevent ice from forming. However, sprinkling salt over the extent of every major roadway is both tedious and time-consuming. In addition, until the salt is finished being sprinkled over the roads, cars cannot safely drive, nor pass the salt-sprinkling vehicles. Road salt  is also known to be damaging to vehicle tires, causing them to rust and deteriorate quickly. Salt can also cause corrosion in bridges, garages, railroads, and other types of infrastructure, as well as have extremely negative effects on the environment by polluting water and damaging or killing plant foliage.

Rusted car as a result of exposure to road salt. Source: Rust Check

Fire Tires present an alternative solution to icy driving conditions by addressing the root of the problem – namely, the roads – by installing a safe yet effective mechanism in the vehicles themselves. Thus the roads can be melted directly without the ongoing expense, time, or effort, involved in other methods of melting road ice.

DESCRIPTION

Description of Your Solution

The Fire Tires will be functioning like regular tires but will have an attachment that will keep the rubber of the tires from burning and melting and separated from the actual tires. When installing the actual fire tire it will bring to parts the metal that will go in between the tire and the fire tire that is like a cover for the tire.The metal will be what keeps the actual tire from burning up and causing problems. It will work one of two ways the amount of friction will allow the tire to heat up and melt away the tires or if you take the item to the mechanic they will install it and there will be a button you can press to allow the tires to heat up to a specific temperature and be constant throughout the car ride.

It will work because the way the fire tire will work is by creating heat it will cause the snow and ice to melt on impact allowing the tire to have friction and keep the car moving at safe and stable motion rather than causing it to swerve and crash. It also would work because it is simple to remove and attach to a car and because of the thermal insulation it will be long term and will not wear and tear easily and it will stay at the specific temperature so even if you been driving for hours the temperature will stay the same so there would be no worry for the overheating problem that most people would be concern about. The purpose for a fire tire is quite simple: we are trying to provide and ensure the safety for the drivers during icy/snowy times. We wanna make sure that people who are trying to learn or are scared of driving in bad weather will become comfortable driving in these conditions and reduce the amount of accidents that have been occuring during the winter season.

MATERIALS

The key is to look for the tire that will last the longest because longevity will lower your spend over time and a well-built tire can improve fuel efficiency. The system features a carcass with a tread, a sidewall and a bead, an inner tube having an inner volume, a first layer of thermal insulation, connected to said bead, a second later of thermal insulation, connected to said tread, a power source, and a heating system having more than one heating coil located in between the first layer of thermal insulation and the second layer of thermal insulation, where the heating system is connected to said power source. The computerized tire heating system may also have a heating gel located in the inner volume of the inner tube.

KEY WORDS

  • Accidents – An unexpected or unintentionally incident that results in damage, injury , or death
  • Weather – The atmosphere of a location at a certain location and point in time ex. Rain,Snow
  • Transportation – When transporting something or someone from one location to another
  • Safety – To be protected from danger, injury. 
  • Ice – Frozen water 
  • Snow – a layer of water vapor that has been frozen into ice crystals which fall and create a light white layer 
  • Frozen – Past term for freeze 

MARKETING

The target market of Fire Tires is the body of drivers, particularly drivers who live in regions that are susceptible to dangerous road conditions. Our vision is that Fire Tires will be a viable option to any standard car-owner, offered as an additional feature upon the purchase of a vehicle, much like heated seat cushions or an infotainment display. Once Fire Tires are a fully developed product, we will advertise them to car dealerships, who can in turn market them directly to consumers.

References

Bener et al. (2006) The impact of four-wheel drives on traffic disability and deaths compared to passenger cars. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16624187

United States Department of Transportation. (2020) Snow and Ice. Retrieved from https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/weather_events/snow_ice.htm

Bridgestone. Road Salt in Winter: Pros & Cons. Retrieved from https://www.bridgestonetire.com/tread-and-trend/tire-talk/pros-and-cons-of-using-road-salt-in-winter

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AnFw8Jo8lDMGViu7I8skFt6LFl-MoAcNeoEHijz_uZ8/edit

Final Draft

Fire Tires

Project Proposal for Ice-Melting Thermal Technology for Vehicle Tires for Icy Road Conditions 

Manny Chimbo

Jordy Gross

Vinuk Ranaweera

The City College of New York

ENGL 21007: Writing for Engineers

Professor A. Voisard

30 April 2020

ABSTRACT

Fire tires are tires that would heat up while a vehicle is in motion in order to melt any ice present underneath and to provide stability on the roads in cold climates. With each vehicle that would travel with these tires, the icy conditions would be lessened, thus making it safer for drivers in such conditions. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 1,300 people are killed and 116,800 people are injured in vehicle crashes on snowy, slushy or icy pavement each year. Snowy and icy driving conditions prove to be extremely hazardous;  Fire Tires would be able to help reduce that risk by melting the frozen roads and eliminating those conditions as they appear. In addition, state and local agencies spend more than 2.3 billion dollars on snow and ice control operations annually. Fire Tires would therefore also lead to a reduction in the amount of money spent on ice operations every year. 

Keywords: Transportation, Safety, Ice, Snow, Frozen, Road, Conditions, Melt

INTRODUCTION

Most of us have experienced the dangers and difficulties of driving on icy roads.  Icy conditions occur in regions with freezing temperatures. In the United States, nearly 70% of the country’s roads and population are located in these snowy regions (FHA: Snow and Ice). When there is rain or snowfall that gathers on the roads, freezing climates cause the precipitation to freeze over, forming icy sheets on the roads, as shown in Figure 1. This ice, being slippery and lacking friction, significantly reduces the control that drivers have over their vehicles, leading to skidding and drifting that can be dangerous and potentially fatal. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 1,300 people are killed and 116,800 people are injured in vehicle crashes on snowy, slushy or icy pavement each year in over 20% of vehicle crashes. Although there have been various attempts at preventing minimizing the harmful effects of icy conditions, there continue to be high quantities of weather-related vehicle accidents each year. 

Figure 1: Icy road due to frozen precipitation

Source: HowStuffWorks

Fire tires can be the newest innovation to solve this problem. Fire Tires are tires that would be heated up while a vehicle is in motion in order to melt ice present underneath and to provide stability on the roads in cold climates. With each vehicle that would travel with these tires, the icy conditions would be lessened, thereby making it safer for drivers in such conditions. The proposal for Fire Tires aims to solve the problem of dangerous driving conditions by using vehicles to solve the problem on the roads. 

BACKGROUND

As mentioned above, there have been various attempts at solving the problems presented by icy road conditions. One example of such a solution is the four-wheel drive vehicle, in which all four wheels of the vehicle are provided with torque simultaneously, which is meant to provide added traction in dangerous driving conditions. However, according to a study published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, nearly half of road traffic accidents involve four-wheel drive vehicles. In addition, accidents involving four-wheel drivers are more severe than those involving smaller cars (Bener et al). These statistics can likely be attributed to the increased range of motion allowed to drivers of these types of vehicles, lulling them into a false sense of security and causing them to potentially drive even  more carelessly then they would otherwise. These statistics thus demonstrate that although four-wheel drive vehicles do solve problems on the icy conditions front, they present other problems in their wake.

Another solution that has been attempted has been the use of snow tires, which are tires designed with a more distinctive tread and larger gaps in the rubber, often with the use of inserted studs, in order to increase traction on snow and ice. However, these snow tires come with harmful drawbacks as well and are even prohibited by law in certain states. As part of their inherent design, snow tires have aggressive treads than wear away at the roads. Studded snow tires have even more damaging effects on the roads, with their studs penetrating into the asphalt, which ultimately warrants billions of dollars in repairs from the government. Another problem with snow tires is that they are both expensive and wear down quickly because of their soft rubber interiors, leading consumers to spend more money on them more frequently. Additionally, similarly to four-wheel drive vehicles, snow tires do not offer the precision handling offered in all-season tires. Because of many of these disadvantages of using snow tires, they are not recommended to be used all-year round and thus should be replaced each year by all-season tires (Unique Auto Body). Fire Tires, however, as will be described below, would not require complete replacement of the tire, but rather consist of just a sleeve that is placed around a prepositioned tire.

In light of these issues, it is apparent that the solution to driving in icy conditions must be directed at changing the conditions of the roads themselves instead of the experiences of the drivers. In other words, the root of the problem must be addressed directly, not just the symptoms. One option that is often used, particularly on pedestrian walkways, is salt. Salt can be sprinkled on cement to prevent ice from forming. However, sprinkling salt over the extent of every major roadway is both tedious and time-consuming. In addition, until the salt is finished being sprinkled over the roads, cars cannot safely drive, nor pass the salt-sprinkling vehicles. Road salt is also known to be damaging to vehicle tires, causing them to rust and deteriorate quickly, as shown in Figure 2. Salt can also cause corrosion in bridges, garages, railroads, and other types of infrastructure, as well as have extremely negative effects on the environment by polluting water and damaging or killing plant foliage.

Figure 2: Rusted car as a result of exposure to road salt

Source: Rust Check

Fire Tires present a potential alternative solution to icy driving conditions by addressing the root of the problem – namely, the roads – by installing a safe yet effective mechanism in the vehicles themselves. Thus the roads can be melted directly without the ongoing expense, time, or effort, involved in other methods of melting road ice.

DESCRIPTION

Fire Tires are primarily accessories that would be able to be attached to the exteriors of car tires that will function much like typical car tires but with an important added safety feature. These tires are designed to prevent drivers from swerving off the road, as well as any other harm or injury due to driving in icy road conditions. Fire Tires will include two main components that will be attached to typical car tires as explained below. The two components are an internally insulated metal ring that will go around the exterior of each car tire, as well as a latticework-designed silicone rubber tire sleeve that will go around the metal ring. As displayed below, Figure 3 is a depiction of a typical car tire and Figure 4 depicts a metal ring that is aesthetically similar to the component of the Fire Tire. This metal ring would go over the car tire to create a ring of protection around the wheel that can be easily secured onto the tire. However, though not visible in Figure 4, the Fire Tire design includes a coat of insulation in the interior of the metal ring. This layer of insulation will be made out of cellulose, which is a material made from recycled paper products that can reliably insulate the rubber tires from the heat (U.S. Department of Energy).

Figure 3 Figure 4

Source: Google Images Source: Google Images

The metal ring shown in Figure 4 will work by being clipped on to a tire and then being pressed into the outer tread of the tire, which will secure the ring safely to the outside of the tire without risk of slipping off during a drive. The purpose of the ring is to conduct heat to the exterior of the Fire Tire, which will melt the snow and ice on the roads, while its interior layer of cellulose insulation will be keeping the rubber of the tires from burning and melting while the Fire Tires are functioning. 

The second component of the Fire Tire is the exterior layer, which – as represented in Figure 5 – is a type of sleeve that would have direct contact with the road. Figure 5 provides a good representation of how the sleeve will be attached to the tire. However, it is important to note that the Fire Tire’s sleeve will be made out of a latticework-looking silicone rather than a fabric, which will be thicker than what is represented with holes in the design. These holes will allow heat to pass through to melt the ice on the roads, while providing traction and thereby control for the driver. As the metal ring begins to heat up, it will provide steady heat with which to melt the ice through the mesh layer of silicone rubber and the interior cellulose insulation will absorb that excess heat and keep the actual tire from overheating and causing problems. 

Figure 5

Source: Google Images

Once someone purchases Fire Tires for his/her car, he/she will have to have a one-time installation of a button that will be pressed to activate the Fire Tires. Once the Fire Tires have been properly attached to the vehicle’s standard tires and the button has been pressed, the Fire Tires will heat up to a predetermined temperature that will be kept constant throughout the drive. Fire Tires will work by creating heat that will cause the snow and ice to thaw on impact, providing the tires with added traction keeping the car moving at a safe and stable speed, rather than swerving off the road. Fire Tires would work even more efficiently than other snow tire alternatives because it is a simple process to remove and attach a Fire Tires to a standard car tire each season. In addition, the strong silicone rubber exterior will not wear and tear easily and the metal will stay at a constantly stable temperature even during long drives. Because of the cellulose insulation, they will prevent damage to the vehicle’s original tires, last longer, and provide a barrier from potential overheating. Consisting of two simple components, Fire Tires will have an easy installation process with parts that are easy for an average consumer to handle: the heated metal that will go over the tire and the latticework-designed sleeve that will cover the metal ring.

MATERIALS AND COSTS

Fire Tires will be designed for longevity in order to prevent consumers from having to spend money on buying them each new season. As shown in Figure 6, the system – once attached to a tire = will have all the essentials a regular tire needs in addition to the added benefits of Fire Tires. This includes a carcass, which is the internal layer of the tire, with a tread to provide grip and traction and the plies that give the tire strength and flexibility. There will also be a sidewall, a steel cable coated with rubber to ensure the tire stays on the wheel rim, and a bead to provide an airtight fit to the wheel. An inner liner will be added to retain the air within the tire walls under pressure (Michelin). These components are present in all standard tires, and will thus be present in a tire that has been upgraded by Fire Tires.

Figure 6

Source: Google Images

There are, however, there will be added components unique to Fire Tires. A steel ring will be placed in the tread to conduct heat to the outside of the tire while two layers of thermal cellulose insulation connected to the bead and to the tread respectively work to contain the excess heat in order to prevent it from potentially melting the rubber. The next component is the sleeve that is secured over the exterior, which is coated with silicone rubber with holes to allow the heat to travel outside and melt the ice and snow that surround it. Furthermore, a computerized tire heating system will be installed so the user can activate the Fire Tires with a push of a button. This works by inserting a power source connected to a heating system containing heating coils in between the first and second layer of insulation. It will be fixed with the button attached to the dashboard of the car. The driver will be able to turn it on at any time and it will heat up to a stable temperature during short and long drives.

For reference, the current standard price of stainless steel is approximately $530 per metric ton (Statista), cellulose insulation is $1.59 per square foot (HomeGuide), and ½ inch thick silicone rubber is priced at $45.90 per square foot (Canal Rubber).

MARKETING

The target market of Fire Tires is the body of drivers, particularly drivers who live in regions that are susceptible to dangerous road conditions. Fire Tires will hopefully become a viable option to any standard car-owner, offered as an additional feature upon the purchase of a vehicle, much like heated seat cushions or an infotainment display. Once Fire Tires are a fully developed product, we will advertise them to car dealerships, who can in turn market them directly to consumers.

CONCLUSION

The above proposal demonstrates why Fire Tires are indeed the most productive solution to the dangers presented by unsafe driving conditions. Their durability, effectiveness, and accessibility all lend themselves to the unique benefits posed by Fire Tires in ways in which other previously attempted solutions do not. With the invention and production of Fire Tires, driving can be made safer for millions of people, saving thousands of lives each year in addition to saving federal and local agencies billions of dollars in road repairs, which can then be channeled towards other, more constructive purposes. With support for the proposed solution, Fire Tires can pave the way to a safer future.

References

Bener et al. (2006) The impact of four-wheel drives on traffic disability and deaths compared to passenger cars. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16624187

Bridgestone. Road Salt in Winter: Pros & Cons. Retrieved from https://www.bridgestonetire.com/tread-and-trend/tire-talk/pros-and-cons-of-using-road-salt-in-winter

Canal Rubber. Silicone Rubber Sheet. Retrieved from https://www.canalrubber.com/sheet-rubber-silicone-rubber-sheet/

HomeGuide. How Much Does Blown-In Insulation Cost To Install?. Retrieved from https://homeguide.com/costs/blown-in-insulation-cost

Michelin. How Are Tires Made? Retrieved from https://www.michelinman.com/howTireMade.html.

Statista. Projected hrc steel prices worldwide between 2018 and 2020. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/214246/world-steel-prices/

United States Department of Energy. Insulation Materials. Retrieved from https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/weatherize/insulation/insulation-materials#cellulose.

United States Department of Transportation. (2020) Snow and Ice. Retrieved from https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/weather_events/snow_ice.htmUnique Auto Body. Snow or All-Season Tires? Retrieved from https://www.uniqueautobody.com/2016/01/pros-and-cons-for-all-season-and-snow-tires/