TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Sidewall Protection for
Off-the-Road Tires
An innovative urethane protector dramatically reduces the risk
of off-the-road tire sidewall puncture on heavy equipment
At concrete and aggregate recycling sites, recycled
aggregate is produced by crushing concrete and
asphalt to reuse the aggregate in the construction
industry as a base for roads or building foundations.
To keep operations running, site managers rely on loaders
to push large jagged chunks of torn-up sidewalk, roadway or
building materials – which can have steel rebar sticking out
– to the crushing line to reduce its size.
Even though off-the-road (OTR) tires for heavy equipment
are specially designed for harsh environments, the risk for
damage is still high. One of the most common failure points
is the tire’s sidewall.
Without added protection, the jagged edges and steel
rebar in piles of debris can put loaders’ OTR tires at severe
risk of sidewall puncture and abrasion, particularly the front
tires closest to myriad sharp, abrading objects.
Fortunately for operations managers, a new breed of
tough, durable sidewall protection for OTR tires is designed to
stop loader sidewall punctures and abrasion while significantly
extending tire life to keep aggregate recycling operations
running reliably.
Minimizing costly sidewall punctures
Research by the mechanical engineering department at the
University of Alberta in 2011 on the detection of faults on offroad
haul truck tires identified five tire failure areas: tire tread,
shoulder, sidewall, bead and liner. The study cited research
by Syncrude Canada Ltd. that examined the causes for offroad
tire failure from 2005-2010. Sidewall cuts accounted for
approximately 18 per cent of all faults, sidewall separation 10
per cent and sidewall impact over five per cent.
For loaders, when the sidewall is damaged – typically by
a puncture – the vehicles are no longer safe to operate and
OTR tires are expensive to replace. Caterpillar 980 Wheel
Loader OTR tires, for example, can cost up to $6,000 or
more, each.
Repairing a damaged sidewall takes valuable time to send
a tire out for repair and the repair may not be successful.
So, an aggregate recycling operator faces a sidelined loader,
expensive tire replacement and reduced production or even
significant operational downtime.
Shortages for certain tire sizes have become more common
recently and it can take days or longer to get a replacement
tire installed at a repair facility, and then get the loader back
to work.
As a solution, an innovative new type of sidewall protection
is entering the market for OTR tires. Purpose-built for use on
heavy equipment at aggregate recycling sites, operators can
bolt on a polyurethane sidewall shield to prevent the sidewalls
from getting punctured during operation.
A Michigan-based firm, Argonics, which specializes in
high-performance, polyurethane-based elastomers, and is
one of the largest producers of impact, wear-resistant and
customizable urethane products, has developed this sidewall
protection. Their sidewall protector uses a proprietary
urethane formulation called Kryptane, which was engineered
for extreme wear conditions involving abrasion, sliding
or impact.
The special properties of urethane make it an excellent
material for sidewall protection. This tough, elastic material
excels in preventing the penetration of sharp objects as well
as deflecting them. It will change shape under impact and
CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
By Del Williams
Sidewall protectors significantly extend tire life to keep
aggregate recycling operations reliably running
PHOTO COURTESY OF ARGONICS
PILING CANADA 11