Japanese fiber manufacturer Omikenshi has developed a material for run-flat tires. The manufacturing cost is about half of that of ordinary materials, and the carbon emission is only half of that of ordinary materials.
The company plans to commercialize this material in fiscal 2021. The material can be used in the carcass layer to maintain high-pressure air in the tire and maintain the tire structure.
Because the explosion-proof wheel needs to endure the heat generated when the car is running after a puncture, it usually uses high-strength man-made fibers in the carcass. Therefore, Omikenshi worked with rubber manufacturer Zeon, Japan's Shinshu University (Shinshu University) and other partners to develop an alternative to man-made fibers—cellulose fibers mixed with high-strength carbon nanotubes.
It is said that because the solvent can be reused, the price of this new fiber is about half of the high tenacity man-made fiber. In addition, the time to deploy new fibers is greatly shortened, which means that compared with high-tenacity man-made fibers, the carbon emissions produced by manufacturing them can also be reduced by more than 50%. Samples of this new material will be issued to tire manufacturers as early as this winter.