The Role of Cap Plies in Steel Belted Radial Tires

by
David Osborne

Introduction

Separation between the steel belts of radial ply car and light truck tires has
been a problem that has been with tire manufacturers since the invention of
the steel belted radial tire. The problem of separation between steel belts
arises due to the conflicting nature of placing two layers of stiff steel cords
within a flexible matrix of rubber and then deforming the composite
arrangement.

Over the years, tire manufacturers have devised means of dealing with this
problem and even now continue research and development to improve their
products.

The problem and the solutions are explained and discussed.

Radial tire construction.

STEEL BELTS
Tw o layers ofsteelcords.

BASIC CO NSTRUCTIO N
O F A CAR O R LIGHT TRUCK
BO DY PLY
RADIAL TIRE
O ne or tw o layers ofnylon,
rayon or polyester

BEAD
Hoop of high tensile steelw ires

This diagram shows the steel and textile reinforcements, the skeleton, of a
radial tire.

The beads are formed from a bundle of high tensile steel wires. The number
of wires and their arrangement largely depend on the size of the tire and the
strength required. The purpose of the bead is to anchor the tire to the rim.

 David Osborne 2003 1

The body ply, or plies, provide the main reinforcement of the tire. The ply is
formed from parallel rubberized textile cords that are aligned at 90 degrees to
the circumferential centerline of the tire. Hence the name – radial ply tire. The
ply is looped under the beads, which act as an anchor. Because the plies are
aligned radially they impart strength to the tire in the radial direction but no
strength to the tire in the circumferential direction.

The steel belts are formed from two layers of rubberized parallel steel cords
that are aligned at an angle usually between 15 and 30 degrees to the
circumferential centerline of the tire. They mainly impart strength in the
circumferential direction and therefore complement the body plies that impart
strength in the radial direction.

The manner in which the steel belts are aligned with each other is shown in
the diagram below:
Belt # 1 Belt # 2 Both steelcord
steelcords steelcords layers

The opposition of angles gives a certain degree of stiffness or rigidity in much

the same way that the opposing grains give plywood its stiffness.

It is this stiffness that gives support to the tread, reduces squirming and
shuffling of the tread during manoeuvers and thereby gives the long tread life
that radial tires are renowned for.

However this stiffness creates problems.

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THE PROBLEMS

Stresses caused by tire inflation

Stresses occur in the rubber matrix surrounding the steel belt edges as soon
as any steel belted radial is inflated.

The body ply and surrounding rubber matrix are flexible and extensible and
the internal pressure forces them to stretch and grow outwards, but the steel
belts are much stiffer and much less extensible and have much greater
resistance to the stretching and growing.

Across the main body of the steel belts the greater stiffness and inflexibility of
the steel belts restrain the body ply and rubber but this restraint suddenly
ends at the belt edge and the body ply and rubber are free to stretch and grow
outwards:

HIGH STRESS

INTERNAL PRESSURE

This sudden change causes high stress in the rubber matrix surrounding the
belt edge.

This stress arises as soon as the tire is inflated and is always present whether
a tire is used on the road or only mounted as a spare.

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Stresses that arise from vehicle load and centrifugal load.

Stresses arise when the tire is loaded and run at speed on a vehicle and
further stresses occur during accelerating, braking and cornering forces.

For simplicity, the stresses that are now considered are those that arise in a
tire during straight-line, non-braking, non-accelerating motion.

Imagine one small section of a tire on a vehicle running at some speed

The tire is rotating so as that small section comes into contact with the road
the downward load caused by the weight of the vehicle deforms it, so that the
tread and the steel belts that lay under the tread deform to a near-flat shape.

The road surface causes the steel belts to be pushed INWARDS, towards
the wheel axle.

CENTRIFUGAL
LO AD BELTS UNDER CENTRIFUGAL LO AD

AXLE

RIM
VEHICLE
BELTS UNDER VEHICLE LOAD
LO AD

RO AD RO AD

As it continues to rotate the small section passes out of contact with the road
and is subject to the load exerted by the centrifugal force generated by its
rotation.

The centrifugal load causes the steel belts to be pushed OUTWARDS,

away from the wheel axle.

The stresses around the belt edges are further increased because the
centrifugal force in the shoulder, where the belt edges are located, is greater
than at the center, because the mass (weight) in the shoulder is greater than
the mass (weight) in the center.

This phenomenon where the centrifugal force causes the tire to stretch and
grow outwards more at the shoulder than at the center is well known in the tire
industry where it known as shoulder growth.

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The effect on the belt edges

TIRE AGAINST RO AD TIRE FREE FRO M RO AD

edges forced INW ARDS edges forced O UTW ARDS

vertical
m ovem ent

VEHICLE CENTRIFUGAL
LO AD LO AD

The diagram shows that there is considerable movement at the belt edges
during this cycle and this considerably increases the stresses around the belt
edges.

The movement of the belt edges and the high stresses generated in the
surrounding rubber has always presented two major problems for tire
manufactures.

3. Socketing at the cut steel edges

The steel cords used in tire belts is plated with a layer of brass to promote
good adhesion between the steel and rubber. However when the steel cord is
cut to make the belts the thousands of cut ends at the belt edges are bare
steel and have no brass plating. Consequently the bonding of the bare cut
steel cord is very poor.

Because of this there are microscopic separations at the end of the cut steel
cords occur with resultant looseness of the adjacent rubber. This is a well-
known phenomenon and is known as socketing.

Furthermore, the thousands of cut steel ends each represent a small

discontinuity in stiffness within the rubber matrix and there is a shearing action
that causes fatigue of the adjacent rubber.

This is an inherent weakness in all steel belted radial tires and the socketing
grows under the constant deformation of the vehicle load / centrifugal load
cycle.

It is for this reason, as much as any other, that tire manufacturers concede
that radial tires will eventually fail over a period of time.

 David Osborne 2003 5

4. Shearing in the rubber between the belts.

A particular effect of having the steel cords of belt #1 and belt #2 aligned in
opposite directions is that as the belt package is deformed the steel cords
pantograph – they are displaced in opposite directions. So as the steel cords
in one belt are displaced radially in one direction, the steel cords of the other
belt are displaced radially in the opposite direction.
M OVEM ENT M OVEM ENT

SHEAR
FO RCES

M OVEM ENT
M OVEM ENT

Between the belts is a layer of rubber usually referred to as the interbelt

rubber. The opposing radial movement of the steel belts causes the interbelt
rubber to be distorted because the interbelt rubber attached to the top belt is
pulled in the opposite direction to the interbelt rubber attached to the bottom
belt.

5. Temperature build up.

Whenever rubber is mechanically deformed some of the mechanical energy is

converted into heat energy and the temperature of the rubber increases.

Temperature increase in a tire is most undesirable because as rubber

becomes hot it starts to age, that is, it starts to lose its physical properties.

If the temperature rises too high the rubber will revert. When rubber reverts
the sulfur crosslinks that vulcanized the rubber in the first place break down
and the rubber loses almost all of its physical properties (it perishes).

The increase in temperature in a tire is attributable to two factors:

a. The amount of mechanical energy that goes into the tire, which in itself
is directly related to the amount of deformation of the tire.

b. The heat retention and heat dissipation properties of the tire rubber.

 David Osborne 2003 6

Summary of problems

The design and engineering problems highlighted so far are common to all
steel belted radial tires irrespective of size, load or speed rating. They are by
no means the only problems faced in the design and engineering of steel
belted radial tires, but they are most relevant to discussion on the use of cap
plies.

They may be summarized thus:

1. High stress in the rubber matrix surrounding the belt edges caused by
inflation pressure.

2. High stress in the rubber matrix surrounding the belt edges caused by
the vehicle load/centrifugal load

3. Stress and fatigue of the rubber in the area of socketing at the belt
edges caused by the vehicle load/centrifugal load cycle.

4. Stress and fatigue of the rubber between the belts caused by shear
strains.

5. Increased tire temperatures caused by the vehicle load/centrifugal load

cycle.

If these problems are not resolved then tire failures due mainly to fatigue of
the rubber components in and around the belts is inevitable.

 David Osborne 2003 7

THE SOLUTIONS

Tire engineers traditionally use four main strategies to reduce the stresses at
the belt edges and reduce tire temperatures:

Solution #1 – belt step

The major cause of stress in the rubber around the belt edge is the
discontinuity of the belt stiffness. To lessen this the belt edges are “stepped”.
That is, the inner belt is wider than the outer belt, so that the stiffness of the
belt is gradually lessened towards the edge - the belt goes from two layers, to
one layer and then zero.

BELT
STEP

BELT # 2
BELT # 1

Solution #2 – shoulder insert

Placing a wedge shaped rubber insert between the ply and the belt edge
reduces growth of the body ply around the belt edges. This insert is
alternatively called a cushion because it cushions the belt edge from the ply
and helps dissipate the stresses in the area.

BELT # 1

SHO ULDER
INSERT

PLY

The shoulder insert acts as a cushion between the ply and the belt so it
absorbs a lot of mechanical energy, some of which is converted to heat
energy. For this reason it is important that the insert compound is formulated
so that it retains as little heat as possible or, as it is known in the tire industry,
it is a “cool running” compound.

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Solution #3 – belt wedge and interbelt gauge

It is known that shear strains in the interbelt rubber decrease with increasing
thickness between the belts and increasing stiffness of the interbelt rubber.

In the case of stiffer rubber, the reduction in shear strain is due to a reduction
in the relative motion between the belts.

In the case of increasing rubber thickness the reduction in shear is the result
of the relative motion being distributed over a larger thickness of rubber.

Therefore tire manufactures counter the effect of shearing forces between the
belts by:

1. Using a stiff interbelt rubber compound to resist the relative motion of the
belts.

2. Ensuring that there is sufficient interbelt rubber gauge between the belts to
absorb and dissipate the stresses between the belts.

3. By placing a rubber wedge between the belt edges to act as a cushion and
help absorb and dissipate the stresses in the area.

BELT # 2
W EDGE

BELT # 1

 David Osborne 2003 9

Solution #4 – cap plies

The amount of movement of the belt edge is a major contributor to the

stresses in the rubber surrounding the belt edges and the generation of heat
in the tire shoulder.

It has been shown that this movement occurs as a result of the vehicle
load/centrifugal load cycle - cap plies are an effective means of reducing the
amount of movement of the belt edge.

A cap ply is a layer of rubberized parallel nylon cords that is wrapped

circumferentially over the steel belts and under the tread.

NYLO N
CAP PLY

The cap ply is a mechanical device that acts a kind of tourniquet and restricts
the amount of growth due to the centrifugal load on the tire:

GRO W TH
W ITHO UT
CAP PLY

GRO W TH
W ITH
CAP PLY

 David Osborne 2003 10

The physical restriction of the cap ply causes the movement of the belt edge
to be significantly reduced and this has three very important and significant
consequences:

1. It reduces stresses and fatigue and loss of properties in the rubber

surrounding the belt edges.

2. It reduces the growth of microscopic separations (sockets) that can

develop into larger separations.

3. It reduces tire temperatures - heat is the enemy of tires - it weakens

rubber through a process known as ageing.

The result is that tires with cap plies are more durable, less likely to fail from
belt separations and therefore safer than those without.

Summary of solutions.

Consider this: If a tire was inflated and used as a spare then it would never
fail. Therefore it is clear that the problems of high stresses at the belt edges
and temperature generation arise whilst the tire is loaded and in motion.

It has been explained how a vehicle load/centrifugal load cycle deforms the
belts, and in particular, the belt edges. This cycle causes the belts, and in
particular the belt edges to move outwards and inwards relative to the center
of the wheel.

Consider the first three solutions:

• Belt edge stepping.

• Shoulder insert.

• Belt wedge.

These solutions only respond to the problem - they do nothing to address the
problem of deformation and belt edge movement due to the vehicle load /
centrifugal load cycle.

The cap ply solution differs because it tackles the problem at source by
reducing the movement of the belts, and in particular, the belt edges.

 David Osborne 2003 11

Discussion

The 1960’s was a time of change in the tire industry. Tubeless tires were
replacing tires with inner tubes and radial ply tire were replacing bias ply tires.
A few manufacturers made and marketed bias-belted tires though these
proved unsuccessful in the long term and died out.

It was also a time of change in the automobile industry with bigger, better and
faster cars appearing and more motorways and freeways being constructed.

With the advances in automobile performance and roadways there was a

demand for tires, and in particular, steel belted radial tires, that would perform
at higher speeds.

This posed a problem for tire manufacturers.

At that time radial tire technology was not well advanced and making tires that
performed well at high speeds was difficult for many, and impossible for some
tire manufacturers. Some of the difficulties that existed then include:

• Steel cords for belts were simple and limited.

• Brass plating steel cords was a new art.

• Bonding rubber to steel cord was a new art.

• Compounds for radial tires was a new art.

• Designing moulds for radial tires was a new art.

• Calendering steel cord was a new art.

• Preparing steel cord for tires was a new art.

• Building radial tires was a new art.

• Curing radial tires was a new art.

Although most manufacturers had tire adjustment figures that were higher
than would be acceptable today, performance was generally considered
adequate for the service conditions of the day. But making tires that were
capable of high-speed performance proved elusive for many tire
manufacturers.

 David Osborne 2003 12

Tires with stepped belt edges, shoulder inserts and belt wedges had been
developed but were generally found to be incapable of the required high-
speed performance.

The problem was that as the tire ran faster the tire shoulders got hotter, the
belt edges loosened and the two belts separated before the whole tread and
belt stripped away from the carcass that very often then exploded.

Tire engineers understood the problem and in the early seventies, patents
describing what are known today as cap plies started to appear.

From then on many tire manufacturers developed tires with cap plies that
gave significant improvement in high-speed performance – tires that went
faster for longer before failing.

However, the problem of belt edge separation was not, and is not, confined
solely to high-speed tires. Belt edge separation was, and is, the single main
cause of structural failure of all steel belted radial tires.

Other than high speed tires, tire manufacturers have always had some
product lines more prone to belt separation than others. In particular, larger
passenger and light truck tires are more prone to belt separation than small
passenger tires.

Therefore, it was no great leap of the imagination to realize that the benefits
derived by using cap plies in high speed tires could also be applied with the
same measure of success to many of these other products.

Thus, during the 1980’s and into the 1990’s European tire manufacturers
started using cap plies in these tire lines to increase their resistance to belt
separation and in doing so making the tires more durable and safer.

Now, the situation in Europe is that the majority of steel belted radial tires are
made with cap plies. Almost all light truck tires, large car tires and even many
of the smaller “S” and “T” rated car tires that are made in Europe are fitted
with cap plies.

 David Osborne 2003 13

Conclusion

Things have changed since cap plies were first introduced to improve high-
speed performance. The whole technology of the radial tire is much better
understood and the whole product much improved:

Improved steel cord constructions are available.

Brass plating technology is better.

Compounds for steel cord bonding are much better.

Mould design with CAD is better.

Tire engineering is improved with finite element analysis.

Tread compounds are much longer lasting.

At the same time operating conditions have become more arduous:

Speed limits have been raised so vehicles are driven faster.

Freeways allow vehicles to be driven for longer times; tires get hot and
stay hot.

The increased demands on modern tires need to be matched by improving

the tire structure and the most effective means so far discovered is by using
cap plies to restrict and reduce the movement of the steel belts.

Cap plies make tires less prone to belt separation and therefore make them
more durable and safer.

Many tire manufacturers have recognized this and cap plies are an integral
part of the modern steel belted radial tire.

D R Osborne
March 2003

 David Osborne 2003 14

The Role of Cap Plies - References

Mechanics of the pneumatic tire.

Part 1. The tire under inflation alone.
E Robecchi and L Amici, Pirelli SpA Milan.
Tire Science and Technology. V1-I3-1973.

Structural mechanics of radial tires.

T Akasaka, Dept Precision Engineering, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan.
ACS, Rubber Chemistry and Technology, V54-I3-1981

Tire stress and deformation. (Chap 7, Mechanics of pneumatic tires).

R A Ridha & S K Clark,
University of Michigan, 1981

US Patent No 3,831,656
Belted pneumatic tires.
Uniroyal AG, Germany, 1974

US Patent 3,850,219
Steel belted radial ply tires with a textile cap band.
Uniroyal Inc, New York, 1974.

US Patent 4,184,530
Tire and reinforcing belt therefore.
Uniroyal, France, 1978

US Patent 4,284,117
Steel belted radial ply tires with cap plies employing single yarn reinforcing
elements.
Uniroyal, Germany, 1988

US Patent 4,635,696
Radial tires and a belt structure therefor.
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Akron, OH, 1987

US Patent 4,724,881
Pneumatic vehicle tire.
Uniroyal, Germany 1988

US Patent 4,934,430
Pneumatic Radial Tire
Bridgestone Corporation, Japan, 1990

US Patent 4,498,514
Reinforcing belt for tires with radial casing.
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Akron, OH, 1985

 David Osborne 2003 15

Retreading steel radials easier now?
R H Snyder, Vice President – Tire Technology, Uniroyal Inc.
Modern tire dealer, January 1977

A parametric study on interlaminar shear strains in cord-rubber composites.

J DeEskinazi and R J Cembrola, General Tire, Akron
ACS, Rubber Chemistry and Technology V57-I1-1984

Fatigue of rubber-cord composites - 2. Strain based failure criteria.

B L Lee, B H Ku, D S Liu and P K Hippo, Pennsylvania State University.
ACS Rubber Chemistry and Technology, V71-I5-1998

Use of cap plies in car tires in the United Kingdom.

L White, January 2003

Use of cap plies in LT tires in United Kingdom.

L White, January 2003

 David Osborne 2003 16