Michelin Lets the Air Out of Future Tire Innovation

Michelin has released information and the first photos of its Tweel(TM) technology today, the fusion of the tire and the wheel. Developed in the U.S. at the company's technology center in Greenville, the non-pneumatic Tweel has the potential to transform the automotive, military, construction and personal mobility industries in the years ahead.

"Major revolutions in mobility may come along only once in a hundred years," said Terry Gettys, president of Michelin Americas Research and Development Center. "But a new century has dawned and Tweel has proven its potential to transform mobility. Tweel enables us to reach levels of performance that quite simply aren't possible with today's conventional pneumatic technology."

The heart of Tweel innovation is its deceptively simple looking hub and spoke design that replaces the need for air pressure while delivering performance previously only available from pneumatic tires. The flexible spokes are fused with a flexible wheel that deforms to absorb shock and rebound with unimaginable ease. With the air needed by conventional tires, Tweel still delivers pneumatic-like performance in weight-carrying capacity, ride comfort, and the ability to "envelope" road hazards.

Michelin has also found that it can tune Tweel performances independently of each other, which is a significant change from conventional tires. This means that vertical stiffness (which primarily affects ride comfort) and lateral stiffness (which affects handling and cornering) can both be optimized, pushing the performance envelope in these applications and enabling new performances not possible for current inflated tires. The Tweel prototype, demonstrated on the Audi A4, is within five percent of the rolling resistance and mass levels of current pneumatic tires. That translates to within one percent of the fuel economy of the standard production application. Additionally, Michelin has increased the lateral stiffness by a factor of five, making the prototype unusually responsive in its handling.

Michelin will provide additional information and unveil the latest applications for its Tweel technology in a press conference on Sunday, January 9th at 9:05 a.m. in the Michelin Media Lounge (Room M3-32) on the third floor of Detroit's Cobo Center.

See Tweel high-res photography at: