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There’s more to tires
than meets the eye

#ScienceDriven

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Tires are complex,
component rich and
innovative products –
designed to perform.

The way tires grip the road
is critical for driving safety,
performance and comfort.

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Tire performance

Tires are engineered for safety, endurance,
driving comfort, and other performance characteristics
(including some that can benefit the environment), such as:

Gripping the road
to steer, accelerate
and brake

Absorbing impacts
& vibrations

Performing in wet
& wintry weather

Supporting
vehicle weight

Resisting heat
and speed

Providing
a quiet ride

Optimizing rolling
resistance for more
energy-efficient mobility

Providing
long wear life

Tire and Road Wear
Particle (TRWP)

Tire tread
material

Road
pavement
material

trwp

Tires become worn as a
consequence of
their grip on the road.

The friction between tires and the road
surface produces tiny particles known
as Tire and Road Wear Particles (TRWP).

TRWP are a consequence of
normal tire use.

Tire Industry Project (TIP)
research has identified
that TRWP are typically:

Tire and Road Wear
Particle (TRWP)

Tire tread
material

Road
pavement
material

Elongated
particles

Approximately
100μm in length
(around the
thickness of
a human hair)

A roughly 50:50 mix
of tire tread
& road pavement
material

Denser
than water
(~1.8g/cm3)

Explore TIP-supported
research

Science
driven

TIP acknowledges that there is much to learn about the particles generated through the normal use of tires and is committed to advancing scientific understanding of TRWP.

Explore
TIP-supported
research

Our
focus

We aim to understand the physical and
chemical characteristics of TRWP and
any potential impacts that TRWP may
have on human health and the
environment.

We have been supporting research into
TRWP since 2005. The independent scientific
research that we support is published in
peer-reviewed journals and we actively share
the findings of our research with other stakeholders.

Our work

We aim to make important
contributions to the scientific
understanding of TRWP, and
includes research into:

The physical and chemical
characteristics of TRWP

The presence and
pathways of TRWP
in the environment

The potential impact of
TRWP on human health
& the environment

The physical and chemical
characteristics of TRWP

The presence and
pathways of TRWP
in the environment

The potential impact of
TRWP on human health
& the environment

Source: Adapted from Unice et al (2018)

Research has helped improve
scientific understanding
of TRWP pathways in
the environment

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Infographic

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