During this year’s Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky., a Goodyear G394 SST wide-base truck tire on display in the tiremaker’s booth absorbed 367 punctures – without any impact on tire inflation.
Show attendees drove the holes into the tire using Goodyear’s “DuraSeal Popper,” a device that enables users to pierce the tread area of a tire by pulling down on a handle. (The tire was mounted on the DuraSeal Popper but not under a load at the time.)
“The results were eye-popping,” said Tim Miller, marketing communications manager, Goodyear Commercial Tire Systems. “DuraSeal technology is the industry’s first and only built-in tire sealant, and is designed for multiple punctures while maintaining tire pressure.”
DuraSeal is a yellow, gel-like rubber compound that instantly seals punctures of up to 1/4-inch in diameter in the tread area of the tire, according to Goodyear. (It does not seal sidewall punctures.) As a nail enters the tire and reaches the tire’s inner liner, DuraSeal surrounds the puncture to seal the leak.
“If the nail is pulled out, DuraSeal can instantly fill the hole and keep air from escaping,” said Miller. “People are amazed that a truck tire can seal itself.”
DuraSeal technology is available in drive and trailer tires for over-the-road applications, plus in all-position tires for mixed service and waste-haul applications.
