Tyrecheck Case Study

In the world of commercial fleet vehicles, checking tyre tread depth and air pressure is a more sophisticated process than you might imagine. This is good news for Derbyshire-based SME Treadcheck Ltd who, thanks to project management and European Commission Framework Programme funding secured and delivered by Pera Technology, enjoyed an opportunity to introduce a market-changing innovation they couldn't have begun to develop by themselves.

Traditionally, drivers might conduct their own visual inspection, whilst more detailed checks by specialist inspectors may be conducted every month or so. The problem is that the drivers' checks can be inaccurate, and the inspectors' checks too infrequent…not to mention very expensive. Hand-held measuring devices might promise new levels of accuracy, but they all depend on someone doing the job properly in the first place, a factor which cannot always be relied upon.

There is good commercial reason for getting air pressure correct. A tyre under-inflated by 10psi can increase fuel consumption by 2.5%, while 20% under-inflation will shorten a tyre's life by as much as 25%. Under-inflated tyres can also overheat, leading to blowouts.

A consortium of six companies – the Tyrecheck project team – saw a way to improve the frequency and accuracy of tyre checks. The method developed involves driving the vehicle over a mat. This delivers eddy currents which are picked up by the steel case within the tyre, producing an accurate measure of tread depth. Calibrated against the original reading taken when the tyre was new, it is easy to get an updated and highly accurate reading for each tyre every time the vehicle is driven over the mat.

The system also measures and records tyre air pressure, producing data taken from each individual pressure gauge within the tyre. All of this data can then be transferred via the internet into a central data monitoring point, saving time and money for tyre owners and helping keep drivers safe.