Development of an Innovative Instrument for Non-destructive Viscoelasticity Characterization: VESevo

The evaluation of the viscoelastic properties is a key topic for the analysis of the dynamic mechanical behaviour of polymers. In vehicle dynamics field, the knowledge of the viscoelasticity of tread compound is fundamental for tire-road contact mechanics modelling and friction coefficient prediction for the improvement of vehicle performance and safety, i.e. motorsport field. These properties are usually characterised by means of Dynamic Mechanical Analysis, which implies testing a compound sample obtained by destroying the tire of interest or a slab manufactured in different conditions respect to the final product provided by tiremakers. In this scenario, the non-destructive procedures are an advantageous solution for the analysis of the tread viscoelasticity, without affecting the tire integrity, allowing a great number of tests in the shortest possible time. For this reason, the authors propose an innovative instrument, called VESevo, for viscoelasticity evaluation by means of non-destructive and user-friendly technique. The purpose of the following work is the preliminary analysis of the dynamic response of the tires tested employing the VESevo in order to determine viscoelastic behaviour indexes for mechanical properties evaluation.