MINExpo 2000, Las Vegas, Nev., Oct. 9, 2000 - Goodyear has developed a new Temperature Prediction Model that uses peak tire temperature - a major factor in tire failures - instead of the traditional kilometer-per-hour/ton-mile-per-hour formula to select and manage tires in service.

"Our new model replaces TKPH/TMPH as the primary method to control the use of tires in service," said Larry Hurst, manager of Goodyear OTR programs. "It provides a forecast of temperature at the hot spot of the tires, based on a myriad of variables.

"The traditional TKPH/TMPH formula uses established averages, which don't account for grades, which shift weight from one end of the truck to the other, increasing tire temperature, and other variables," Hurst said. "The key to maximizing tire life is knowing when the tires are entering the heat danger zone and taking steps to keep them out of that zone by putting the truck on a different route, performing maintenance, or some other activity."

Goodyear's TPM model eliminates the inherent weakness in TKPH /MPH values. It allows the mine to do "what if?" analyses of various operating configurations to ensure maximum utilization of the tire/vehicle while still protecting the investment in the tire assets.

It anticipates the impact of route configuration on heat generation in the tire prior to making that change.

It allows the operation to select the size, design and tread compound for each position on the truck. "This is made even more accurate because technical data for all Goodyear haulage tires are part of the equation, enabling the user to select the best tire for the application," Hurst said.

Ambient temperature is also part of the model. The operator selects the profile that best describes the expected weather forecast, then selects the starting time of the 24-hour day that the prediction will be run.

The truck haul route's name, description, timing, distance and speed are also factored in, as is the truck's itinerary -- how the various routes, breaks, etc. are combined to create the vehicle's work cycle over time. "This brings us to the actual temperature prediction," Hurst said. "We can now predict each tire's temperature and pressure based on all these vehicle, tire, ambient temperature, route, and itinerary choices."The system was developed at Goodyear's Akron, Ohio, technical center and tested at its San Angelo, Tex., proving grounds. The next step is evaluation by the company's field service engineers at their customers' mines.

Goodyear's OTR products and services are described on the company's website, www.goodyearotr.com.(For electronic version of this release, go to http://www.goodyear.com/us/press/mineexpo.html)