Japan Yokohama Rubber Company Develops Tire Innerliner Technology

According to Nikkei BP, Japan's Yokohama Rubber Company has recently developed a technology for the inner rubber layer (airtight layer) of commercial vehicle tires, which can significantly reduce tire leakage that can easily lead to reduced fuel efficiency. Compared with the conventional airtight layer, the air leakage can be reduced by about 30%, the air pressure can be maintained, and the weight can be reduced. Since April, tires used in Japanese factories have been gradually expanded to overseas factories.

Since the rubber of the tire has air permeability, the air pressure after the air leakage will inevitably decrease, and the rolling resistance of the tire having a reduced air pressure will increase, which will not only reduce the fuel efficiency but also reduce the running performance. The inner liner technology developed by Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. uses talc to form plate-like “flat talc” particles that are layered in rubber to reduce air leakage.

In 2009, Yokohama Rubber developed a new material airtight layer for passenger vehicles that significantly reduces leakage. Although the thickness is one-fifth that of conventional products, it has the same or higher performance, and is mainly used for tires with low fuel consumption. This time, a new airtight layer that can reduce air leakage has been developed for commercial vehicles .