Recently, Zhang, a truck driver in Lushan County, was inflating a tire in an auto repair shop. When he was inflating the tire, the tire suddenly exploded. The shock wave sent flying, Guo was killed on the spot, and Zhang died on the way to the hospital. In an accident, we can’t help asking, how powerful is a tire explosion? How to really achieve tire explosion-proof? What should be paid attention to in daily use?
Tire explosions are as powerful as hand grenades
How powerful is a car tire explosion? For a car with a self-weight of about two tons, the standard tire pressure of the tire is 2.5 atmospheres. The tire pressure of large trucks generally reaches 7 to 10 atmospheres (one atmosphere is 101325 Pascals), and some even exceed 10 atmospheres.
How much pressure is inside a car tire? According to calculations, the maximum tire pressure of a car is 10 kilograms per square centimeter, which is equivalent to the pressure at the bottom of a 30-storey building (80 meters) of water column. If a fully inflated tire explodes, the gas in the tire explodes instantly in a short distance. The shock wave is enough to break a person’s bones. If the tire of a heavy goods vehicle exploded, it would be as powerful as the explosion of a hand grenade.
Pay attention to the pressure of tire inflation
Tire pressure is directly related to driving safety, so it needs to be paid attention to. The tire inflation must be proper, otherwise the impact will increase fuel consumption and cause danger. Inflating is actually a technical task. First of all, it is necessary to check whether the valve and the valve core are evenly matched, whether there are protrusions and recesses and other defects, which are inconvenient to inflate and measure the air pressure. Pay attention to safety, check the air pressure with a barometer at any time, so as not to burst the tire due to excessive inflation. Pay attention to heat dissipation first and then inflate. After the vehicle is stopped, wait for the tire to dissipate heat before inflating. Because the tire temperature rises when the vehicle is running, it will affect the air pressure. In addition to not inflating the tire when the temperature is high, the inflation valve should also be cleaned. If there is residual water and oil, it should be cleaned in time to prevent water and oil from entering the tire and causing damage to the rubber inside the tire.
“Prevention before it happens” may not be applicable to tires. Car owners should not inflate too much because they cannot be inflated at any time when they go out for a long time, and they must not exceed the standard too much. If the standard is too much, the cord will be overstretched and affect the tire. service life. After inflating, you can apply soapy water to the valve to check for air leaks.
Daily protection of tires
Many car owners usually ignore the maintenance of tires. When there is a problem with the tires and it takes hundreds or even thousands of dollars to replace them, they will feel sorry for their wallets and blame themselves for not taking good care of the tires. According to the experience of the majority of car owners, if there are good tire maintenance methods in daily use, it will undoubtedly increase the service life of the tires.
Statistics show that 70% of traffic accidents on expressways in my country are caused by tire pressure problems. Wherein 46% are blown tires, and the major traffic accidents caused by blown tires account for 35% of all traffic accidents, and the ratio of tire pressure problems causing in traffic accidents in the United States is as high as 80%. The proportion of causes of tire blowouts was as follows: high tire pressure accounted for 20%, insufficient tire pressure accounted for 57%, and other factors accounted for 23%. A tire blowout occurs when the driving speed is above 160 kilometers per hour, and the mortality rate is close to 100%. Therefore, to protect the tires, the most basic point is to pay attention to the tire pressure. Especially in winter and summer when the tire pressure changes greatly. Too high or too low tire pressure will reduce the life of the tire to a certain extent, and there will be some hidden dangers during driving. Car owners who have the conditions are usually better to carry a tire pressure gauge and an air pump with them. Once they see that the tires are abnormal, they can reset the tire pressure by themselves.
I believe that many car owners have the experience of driving their cars on the shoulder of the road (commonly known as “curb”). The height of many curbs is at least 12 cm, and some even reach 20 cm, which is equivalent to one-third of the diameter of the tire. But there are still many car owners who ignore these curbs and drive on them no matter what the height is. In fact, as long as the speed of the vehicle is slightly higher, the tires will be damaged after pressing on the curb, burying the hidden danger of tire blowout, but it failed to make those car owners change their bad habit of pressing the curb while using the car. Take a tire with an aspect ratio of 60 as an example. If the height of the curb is 15 cm, the angle between the side of the vehicle tire and the curb is less than 45 degrees, and the speed of the vehicle is greater than 30 km/h. Break 3 to 4 cords (the example data comes from the National Rubber Tire Quality Supervision and Inspection Center).
Sometimes individual vehicles will “eat tires”, so it is necessary to check the tires, especially the inside, to see if there is any abnormal wear, mainly to observe whether the depth of the pattern on both sides of the tire is consistent. Foreign objects in tire treads are potentially dangerous and are prone to splashing out when the car is in motion. Therefore, if you find small stones, etc., you should use keys to dig them out, and try to ensure that the tires are clean. If the vehicle is nailed, even if there is no air leak, replace the spare tire as soon as possible, and then replace the nailed tire. In fact, sometimes you don’t need to replace the spare tire until the nails are driven in. Let the tire repairer check the nails first. If the nails are not big and the nails are not deep, the tire may not be pierced through, so you don’t need to replace the spare tire.
If the tires are stained with chemical agents such as oil and detergent, it is best to clean them in a short time, because most of these chemical agents will chemically react with the rubber to accelerate the aging of the tires. Usually, try to park the vehicle in a cool place to avoid the sun from exposing the tires.
The quality of driving habits can also affect the life of the tire. Especially in the process of driving, if you encounter potholes on the road, it is best to pass at a low speed. Passing through the potholes quickly will cause great impact to the tires, especially for some low-profile tires (for example, tires with an aspect ratio below 45 are considered low-profile tires) and more attention should be paid.
Source of pictures and texts: Netease Automobile.
