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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



September 1, 1921 



A Glossary of W^ords and Terms Used in the Rubber Industry — VIF 



By Henry C. Pearson 



Pneumatic Tire Definitions" 



THE I'oUowing detinitions relating to pneumatic tires are pre- 

 sented subject to additions and corrections. They are pur- 

 posely brief, the plan being ultimately to expand those of 

 major, and delete those of minor importance. Factory terms, 

 machines and processes have, in this section, been excluded ex- 

 cept when they e.vplain finished products. 



Pneum.\tic Tire. A circular rubber and fabric tube for attach- 

 ment to the rim of a wheel, inflatable with air or gas under pres- 

 sure, usually through an affi.xed valve. The fabric supplies 

 strength and checks undue expansion. The rubber binds the plies 

 of fabric together, insulates threads or cords that they may not 

 chafe, protects from moisture and abrasion, presents a surface 

 adapted for traction, resistant to side slip, and confines the air. 

 Pneumatic tires arc called in French, "pneumatiques," in English, 

 "pneumatic tyres," and in almost all other languages, "pneumatics," 

 sometimes, "pneus." 



There are two general types, double tube and single tube. The 

 double tube consists of two separate parts, the casing and the 

 inner tube. The casing is a concave band of rubber and fabric, 

 open throughout its whole inner circumference and nearly horse- 

 shoe-shaped in cross-section. Its parts in general are : rubber 

 tread, rubberized fabric breaker strip, carcass built of plies of 

 rubberized building fabric, or of cords or cord fabric, side-walls, 

 and rim attachment beads of rubber and fabric or rubber fabric 

 and wire. Its office is to envelop, retain, and protect the inner 

 tube and aflford a suitable surface for road contact. 



Three types of casings are used, fabric, cord and cord fabric. 

 The fabric type is built up of plies of frictioned square-woven 

 fabric so applied that warp and woof threads lie diagonal to the 

 circumference of the tire. Cord tire casings are made of separate 

 cords, rubber impregnated, laid diagonally in two or more separate 

 plies, each cord and each ply separated, cushioned and isolated by 

 coatings or layers of rubber. Cord fabric tire casings are made 

 of cord layers (plies) which consist of close-lying parallel warp 

 cords lightly held together with tie-in-threads, rubber impreg- 

 nated and insulated. They are ordinarily made of 6, 8, or more 

 plies, the cords of each lying diagonal to the circumference and 

 also to the other plies in alternation. 



The inner tube is usually a circular, endless, elastic tube of rub- 

 ber to which an inflation valve is affixed, or a straight tube sealed 

 at the ends which butt together when it is fitted within the circu- 

 lar casing. Its oflSce is to hold air under pressure, being enveloped 

 and protected by the casing into which it fits. The single-tube tire 

 used chiefly on .Xmerican bicycles is an endless tube of rubber 

 and fabric brought by pressure and vulcanization into a homo- 

 geneous unit. It consists of rubber lining, frictioned fabric plies, 

 rubber cover tread and valve. 



The pneumatic tire is used on passenger automobiles, motor- 

 cycles, motor trucks, airplanes and bicycles, and to a lesser degree 

 on racing sulkies, carriages, perambulators and jinrickishas. 



ABR.^SION. The wearing away of the surface of a tire by rub- 

 bing off or attrition, as tread abrasion. 



Absorb.\bilitv. a quality possessed in a marked degree by 

 pneumatic tires, whereby they resist compressive shocks, or take 

 up and disperse through the resilient casing and the elastic, in- 

 flated inner tube, the jarring or concussion due to the striking of 

 or passing over minor obstructions of the road, with minimum 

 vibration and loss of energy. 



Accelerated Cure. See Vulcanization. 



'Continued from The India Robber World, July 1, 1921, pages 723-725. 

 • Copyrislited by 'ETcniy C. Pear?'>n. May be reprinted with credit to the 

 author. 



Accessible Valves. Inner tube valves within easy reach, in 

 contradistinction to valves set on the inner side of a wheel, as 

 on types of disk wheels which by reason of their inaccessibility 

 make frequent pressure testing difficult and tend to the neglect 

 of proper inflation. 



Accessory Kit. A trade term for an assortment of rubberized 

 fabric and rubber patches, cement, etc., for emergency work in 

 tire repair. See Repair. 



.\cu). A shop term applied to cold-cure solutions containing 

 chloride of sulphur. See Cold Cure. 



Acid Cure Cement. A cold cure, self-vulcanizing cement used 

 in splicing inner tubes, afti.\ing valve patches, and other repair 

 work; a typical formula being 1.7 fluid ounces of sulphur mono- 

 chloride to 1 gallon of carbon tetrachloride mi-xed with pure 

 rubber. See Cement. 



Adhesion. The friction strength of union between the com- 

 ponent parts and the materials in a casing. See Specifications. 



Adjuster. One who adjusts. See Adjustment. 



Adjustment. A refund or allowance to the buyer of a tire 

 claimed to have failed to give satisfaction through defect in 

 material or workmanship. See Guaranty. 



Aerial Wheel. A name given to the first pneumatic vehicle 

 tire patented in England in 1845 by Robert W. Thompson. 



Aftercure. a slow process of spontaneous vulcanization in 

 normal atmospheric temperature, remarked in the aging of rub- 

 ber when it becomes inelastic and inclines to chip and check on 

 its surface. 



Aging Qualities. Properties possessed by a tire, involving 

 materials and make-up, which determine the duration of its 

 normal service. Often applied to side-wall stock. See Life. 



Air Cure Cement. India rubber in a volatile solvent so com- 

 pounded that it cures on exposure to the air ; self curing cement. 

 See Acid Cure Cement. 



Air G.\ge, or Gauge. A small instrument applied to a valve 

 for determining the pressure of air in an inflated inner tube, 

 and usually self-recording. See Pressure Gage. 



Air Nipples. Rubber devices attached to tires in which valves 

 are fastened. 



Air Pressure. The expansive stress of the air in pneumatic 

 tires proportioned to tire size and maximum load. See Load. 



Air Releaser. A contrivance for screwing upon a valve 

 which, by depressing the plunger pin or check, allows an inner 

 tube to deflate, as for repair. See Deflator. 



Air Substitutes. Various devices and materials designed to 

 supplant compressed air for resilience in pneinnatic tires. See 

 Fillers. 



Air Tube. A British term for inner tube. 



.'\iR Tube Protector. An interliner of several plies of friction 

 fabric molded to fit inside a casing and having beveled or 

 feathered edges. Designed to protect the inner tube when a cas- 

 ing has been pierced. It is placed over the inner tube and in- 

 serted with the latter but not cemented to the casing. See 

 Relincrs. 



Air Valve. The channel through which compressed air is 

 supplied to or expelled from an inner tube. See Valve. 



Airplane Tire (Aeroplane Tire). A light cord or fabric 

 tire, for airplanes. First manufactured as a single-tube tire, then 

 as a clincher fabric tire, and finally as a clincher cord tire. At 

 present the Palmer type of clincher cord airplane tire with a 

 wire reinforcement in the bead is generally used. This allows 

 a smaller bead to be used and lightens the tire, and also allows 



