The Holy Grail of the tire world is undoubtedly the legendary puncture-proof airless tire that all companies have been talking about for the past few years. Although several manufacturers have already presented models that should enter the market in the next decade, it seems that we are still in a period of experimentation.
All the prototypes presented so far have been made from new material combinations developed by the various manufacturers. I don’t know if Michelin, Goodyear or Bridgestone read my articles (although I highly doubt it), but in any case here is my personal suggestion for the tire of the future: NiTinol!
A metal with a memory
In itself, NiTinol has nothing very exciting. It is simply an alloy of nickel and titanium which is where the name comes from. What makes it absolutely incredible is its ability to deform reversibly. A normal material has a maximum of 1% reversible deformation, whereas NiTinol can undergo up to 10% before it cannot return to its normal shape. Steel used in a spring, for example, will be closer to 0.3%.
In practice, this means that significant damage can be sustained without the tire needing to be replaced. With some treatment, it is also possible to alter the shape of the metal, which allows for almost infinite modifications even after the tire is manufactured. The only small problem is that NiTinol must be exposed to heat to fully regain its shape.
Approved by NASA!
I have to admit that I am not the first one to have had the idea of combining NiTinol and tires. While traditional tire companies have not embraced this alloy, scientists at NASA’s Glenn Research Center have already been experimenting with it. The Glenn Superelastic tire was designed to meet the needs of vehicles that will be driving on the surface of other planets.
NiTinol seems to be the perfect material since it would allow future rovers to have almost indestructible tires. You can understand that garages are rare on Mars or Mercury! Their capacity to be adapted to the conditions would also allow them to offer the best adherence at all times, regardless of the soil composition.
Here on Earth, this role is better fulfilled by off-road tires like the Yokohama Geolandar or the BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2. After all, despite my suggestion, I don’t think we’ll see NiTinol tires anytime soon, let alone on sale at Blackcircles.ca. We prefer products that have been proven to work!
