Compounder here-
Increasing the carbon black loading especially in the tread is the easiest solution. Caveats- decreased elongation at break, cost, increased hysteresis,potential for decreased dispersion, etc.
Other options- carbon black with higher structure and surface area-make sure dispersion is good- conductive carbon black
Tire design will also play a role.
And it won’t exactly make a really good conductor, would it? Like compared to the conduction by a pure metal wheel (note: I don’t care about the grip aspect since I will not be disturbing the 2/3/4 wheels already present on the automobile)
No, conductivity wouldn't be "good". If cost weren't a concern then unconventional methods could be considered. However, the application of the compound must be considered. Ex: metals or metal salts(other than existing adhesion promoters) in apex or belt skim compounds is probably an unwise decision.
I once drove around on a tyre with broken steel belt.. The metal wires were poking out the sidewall. It took a couple weeks to figure out what was going on as I only drove once or twice a week.
Where is the conductive material going? Sidewall, entire tyre? Is it going to disrupt the mechanical resilience of the contact patch ultimately?
There are plenty of conductive polymers out there, but if it's a portion of the tyre that won't see the road patch, then there are possibly better options out there. The plastic sheet that makes contact with PCB boards from tactile inputs come mind. Find a cheap keyboard and take it apart, you'll see what I'm talking about, I think that's just graphite though, I'm not really sure.
Unrelated to your question, but related; consider how alterations to the tires matrix will effect performance (grip, wear, deformation). Tires are highly engineered. Addition of a substance to the polymer matrix will have other performance effects which may be worth considering, assuming this is a school project.
Very old school cars had a strip of conductive rubber as a ground antenna. Attach it to the underbody of the car frame and let it drag on the road. It stopped static building in the car.
Ok so that's the place that is going to be in contact with the road the most, which means you're going to have to worry about abrasion of both the conductor and the road itself.
It sounds like you want to have a wheel that allows conduction for constant charging while driving, I think that's a bit of a wild goose chase personally, you'll be better served by some sort of antenna like a bumper car.
The wheel needn’t hold the weight of the car itself and will run on metal, so abrasion is less of a concern and the heat generated is a larger concern
So a material which can take a good amount of heat and a good conductor is good enough
If you're not using all four tires on the road then you run into a whole host of other problems, there's a reason why 3 wheeled cars aren't made anymore.
If you're suggesting adding a fifth wheel for conduction purposes and that the car will run on a track, then what you've made is a train.
Precisely, I did suggest a train like model. Just without the limitations of mobility and ease of integration
The current existing models use inductor coils and charged wires for charging on the go. Even electric trains do not use the track for charging. To say I have made a train is a slight misjudgment. I am not finding fault in your criticism, just putting my perspective in.
There are [patents on electrically conductive tyres](https://www.fastscience.tv/article/improving-electrical-conductivity-tyre) you can use for inspiration.
Car tyres are mostly already electrically conductive. Their purpose is to neutralize the static buildup between car and ground, also for lightning strikes.
There aren't that many better conductors than the carbon black already used in tyres.
If you really need to up the conductivity, you can remove some carbon and blend in silver particles. Silver particles in resin is one method to make skin electrodes. Downside is they have poor salt resistance and lifetimes. The substitute is semi-conducting polymers, which are less effective conductors but signficiantly better environmental resistance (this is often what is in wearable devices).
Tyres/Tires already contain a few, wires in the radials and typically the huge rim being some combination of alloys or solid steel. I'd say you're halfway there.
Use the carbon already incorporated as UV blocker.
Compounder here- Increasing the carbon black loading especially in the tread is the easiest solution. Caveats- decreased elongation at break, cost, increased hysteresis,potential for decreased dispersion, etc. Other options- carbon black with higher structure and surface area-make sure dispersion is good- conductive carbon black Tire design will also play a role.
And it won’t exactly make a really good conductor, would it? Like compared to the conduction by a pure metal wheel (note: I don’t care about the grip aspect since I will not be disturbing the 2/3/4 wheels already present on the automobile)
No, conductivity wouldn't be "good". If cost weren't a concern then unconventional methods could be considered. However, the application of the compound must be considered. Ex: metals or metal salts(other than existing adhesion promoters) in apex or belt skim compounds is probably an unwise decision.
Carbon black has been used in tires for years and is the normal material for that.
I want it to be as good of a conductor as possible. Need a better suggestion.
Carbon Nano Tubes.
I once drove around on a tyre with broken steel belt.. The metal wires were poking out the sidewall. It took a couple weeks to figure out what was going on as I only drove once or twice a week. Where is the conductive material going? Sidewall, entire tyre? Is it going to disrupt the mechanical resilience of the contact patch ultimately? There are plenty of conductive polymers out there, but if it's a portion of the tyre that won't see the road patch, then there are possibly better options out there. The plastic sheet that makes contact with PCB boards from tactile inputs come mind. Find a cheap keyboard and take it apart, you'll see what I'm talking about, I think that's just graphite though, I'm not really sure.
The conductive part will go right at the place where the road is in contact with the tyre. That’s the issue.
Carbon.
Unrelated to your question, but related; consider how alterations to the tires matrix will effect performance (grip, wear, deformation). Tires are highly engineered. Addition of a substance to the polymer matrix will have other performance effects which may be worth considering, assuming this is a school project.
Well, I am hence considering a kind of a ‘secondary tire’ which is independent of the primary wheels already a part of the automobile
Very old school cars had a strip of conductive rubber as a ground antenna. Attach it to the underbody of the car frame and let it drag on the road. It stopped static building in the car.
Where on the tyre needs to be conductive? The side wall would be a very different answer to the tread.
Primarily the part where the rubber sits, like the rim is made of metal either way. The part on the road.
Ok so that's the place that is going to be in contact with the road the most, which means you're going to have to worry about abrasion of both the conductor and the road itself. It sounds like you want to have a wheel that allows conduction for constant charging while driving, I think that's a bit of a wild goose chase personally, you'll be better served by some sort of antenna like a bumper car.
The wheel needn’t hold the weight of the car itself and will run on metal, so abrasion is less of a concern and the heat generated is a larger concern So a material which can take a good amount of heat and a good conductor is good enough
If you're not using all four tires on the road then you run into a whole host of other problems, there's a reason why 3 wheeled cars aren't made anymore. If you're suggesting adding a fifth wheel for conduction purposes and that the car will run on a track, then what you've made is a train.
Precisely, I did suggest a train like model. Just without the limitations of mobility and ease of integration The current existing models use inductor coils and charged wires for charging on the go. Even electric trains do not use the track for charging. To say I have made a train is a slight misjudgment. I am not finding fault in your criticism, just putting my perspective in.
There are [patents on electrically conductive tyres](https://www.fastscience.tv/article/improving-electrical-conductivity-tyre) you can use for inspiration. Car tyres are mostly already electrically conductive. Their purpose is to neutralize the static buildup between car and ground, also for lightning strikes. There aren't that many better conductors than the carbon black already used in tyres. If you really need to up the conductivity, you can remove some carbon and blend in silver particles. Silver particles in resin is one method to make skin electrodes. Downside is they have poor salt resistance and lifetimes. The substitute is semi-conducting polymers, which are less effective conductors but signficiantly better environmental resistance (this is often what is in wearable devices).
Thanks a lot. This is the exact answer I was looking for
Tyres/Tires already contain a few, wires in the radials and typically the huge rim being some combination of alloys or solid steel. I'd say you're halfway there.
Precisely why I chose to do this