Tire Technology Expo planned. (Meetings).

Tire Technology Expo 2003, sponsored by U.K. International Press, will be held March 5-7 at the Hamburg International Exhibition Center in Hamburg, Germany.

Presentations covering the full spectrum of issues affecting current and future tire manufacturing will include approximately 80 speakers.

This 3rd European Exhibition and Conference is dedicated exclusively to tire design, tire materials and tire manufacturing technology.

Session 1 on March 5 is a plenary session and will include the following presentations: "Active safety of commercial vehicles--status 2003," Prof. yon Glasner, DaimlerChrysler Trucks; "Aspects and implications of the Firestone tire crisis in the U.S.A.," T. Davis, Ford; "Specifying a tire--PSA's point of view," Gregory Mahajoub, PSA; "The BMW tire development process--development and application of high-performance run-flat tires for BMW Group cars," H.R. Hein, BMW; "Tire as a sensor--Pirelli approach and implementations," F. Mancosu, Pirelli; and "Advances in tire design and manufacturing," R. Sadeghi, MSC Software.

Session 2 on March 5 on "The tire in the corner engineering concept" will include the following presentations: "Tire-vehicle integration by total suspension design," Dr. Saied Taheri, Goodyear; "The effect of future tire technologies on the evolution of chassis," D. Milot, TRW Automotive Chassis Systems; "The new Range Rover--maximizing customer benefits from a slip control system," R Thompson, Land Rover; "ESP for tires," G. Tomka, QinetiQ; "Progress in vehicle monitoring systems with ChromasonicsT," R. Todd, Tekgenuity; "Computer modeling of tire behavior for vehicle dynamics," M. Blundell, University of Coventry; and "Recent research on road/tire friction from the road's perspective," P. Roe, TRL.

Session 3 on March 5 on "Tire manufacturing and efficiency" will include the following presentations: "Controlling your tire building," G. Kessels, LMI 3D Machine Vision; "Lines for the production of innerliners with roller head units," Hans-Joachim Pohl, Paul Troester Maschinenfabrik; "The drive impact on rubber mixing," Uno Sundelin, Hagglunds Drives; "Modular design of tire industry machine and production lines," Klaus Nagel, ThyssenKrupp Elastomertechnik; "Zero maintenance first in, first out accumulators for green and finished tires," Henk Boelaars, Intralox; "New release agents for tire molding," Dr. T. Mergenhagen, Schill & Seilacher Struktol; "HESC--a new generation of tangential rotors with respect to cooling efficiency," Harald Keuter, ThyssenKrupp Elastomertechnik; "Cost saving in the tire mold production," Dr. Ralf Stecher, Wolf & Beck; and a paper title to be determined from VMI EPE Holland.

On March 6, Session 1 on "The tire as an information center" will include the following presentations: "Talking tires--a basis for tire diagnostic systems," M. Fischer and Dieter Wagner, Siemens VDO Automotive; "Reduced stopping distance--tasks and improvement of tire, brake, damper, sensories and networking electronics," Alex Becker and Bernhard Schmittner, Continental AG; "The evolution of the intelligent tire," R. Rudman, SmarTire Systems; "Low cost integrated package for TPMS," Appo van de Wiel, Melexis; "Are average users up to using intelligent tires?" Prof. Gradimir Danon, Faculty of Forestry; "Intelligent tires," Jukka Hakanen, Nokian Tires; "Performance-oriented active-suspensions and yaw-control in road vehicles," Dr. Enrici Silani, Politechnico Di Milano; and a title to be determined from K.D. Stock of Schrader Electronics.

Session 2 on March 6 on "Tire noise" will include the following presentations: "Tire/road noise," Johann Tonhauser, BMW; "Tire/road noise," U. Sandberg, Swedish National Road & Transport Research Institute; "Urgent structural transfer function measurements on a tire," N. Taylor, Land Rover; "Noise and use characteristics of modern car tires (new results)," R. Stenschke, UBA, Federal Environmental Agency; "Towards multinational criteria for low-noise surfaces," S. Phillips, TRI; "Developments in tire/road interaction noise and the role of legislation," Wolfgang Gnoerich, Goodyear; "The influence of tire and road parameters on the generation of tire/road noise," Wolfgang Kropp, Chalmers University; and a title to be determined from Manfred Klopotek, Scania.

Session 3 on March 6 on "Tire material developments" will include the following presentations: "Network stabilization under anaerobic and aerobic environments" Dr. R.N. Datta, Flexsys; "Wet grip enhancing polymers, a comparison in tire tread compounds," A. Rawlinson, Bayer; "Rayon--superior reinforcement for high performance tires" C. Norhansen, Cordenka; "Observations on the testing methodology of cord-rubber composites," Dr. A. Causa, Goodyear; "Novel filler for improving the wet traction of tires," L. Gatti, J.M. Huber; "Insights concerning the tear mechanism," Dr. Wemer Niedermeier, Degussa; "A new carbon black for tire treads with balanced rolling resistance, treadwear and traction," W. Wang, Columbian Chemicals; "How we adapt butyl rubber with diene elastomers," R. Limoochi, Yazd Tire; "Advanced 2200 dtex polyester constructions for further rayon replacement," J.F. Fritsch, Honeywell Performance Fibers; "New developments in the manufacture of tire-cord fabrics on airjet machines," Filips Lombaert, Picanol NV; "Quality control of tire wire rod production," Dr. John Wilkinson, Corus Construction and Industrial; "The adhesion properties of steel reinforcement materials," P. Janypka, Matador; "Effect of ambient conditions on aging of tire cord fabric adhesion," Berrin Yilmaz, Kordsa AS; and a title to be determined from Dominique Petit, Rhodia Silica Systems.

Session 4 on March 6 on "Tire design, modeling and simulation" will include the following presentations: "Normalization of tire shear forces for economy of testing and computation for vehicle dynamics simulations," R. Sharp, Imperial College; "Tire design for the future," S. Miyabe San, Dunlop Germany; "Development of tire building simulation," R. Hanada, Yokohama Rubber Ltd.; "Developing FE-Tire Model Library for durability and crash simulation," Kimihiro Hayashi, Japan Research Institute; "Improvements in tire wear based on 3D finite element analysis," Yoshio Kaji, Bridgestone; "An examination of run-flat tire mechanical properties as affected by inflation pressure," Dave Schwarz, Smithers; "Simulation and optimization of automotive tires under real operating conditions," Haluk Menderes, MSC Software; and titles to be determined from TNO Delft, Conti, BMW and DaimlerChrysler.

On March 7, Session 1 on "Rubber properties and their measurements" will include the following presentations: "New excitation controls bring new advanced analysis capabilities on classical dynamic mechanical analyzers," Amaud Favier, Metravib; "Sine v's pulse input fatigue crack growth testing using self-contained, multistation, servohydraulic test equipment," Richard Shepherd, MERL; "Crack propagation and abrasion in elastomers--principles and complexities," Dr. Vince Coveney, University of Western England; "Theory of rubber friction and contact mechanics," B.N.J. Persson, IFF; "Theory of rubber contact mechanics and adhesion," B.N.J. Persson, IFF; "Reinforcement mechanisms in carbon black filled elastomers," Dr. J. Busfield, Queen Mary College, University of London; "Tire friction property on various road surfaces," Dr. S. Yamazaki, Japan Automobile Research Institute; and "New cure technology for improved flexural fatigue, heat aging and adhesion performance in polyisoprene and natural rubber tire compounds," Richard Costin, Sartomer.

Session 2 on March 7 on "Tire testing and quality assurance" will include the following presentations: "Road behavior issues in derivative vehicles," Dr. Jan Brocking, Wilhelm Karmann and Wolfgang Knobloch, ATP-Papenburg; "Tire inspection by sheet of light imaging," Dr. Schmitt, Fraunhofer Institute; "Computed tomography in tire industries," Klaus Tiggesbaumker, Yxlon International; and paper titles to be determined from T. Slevin of Microface; Wolfgang Gerwinat of Argentox Ozone Technology; Hofmann Maschinenund Anlagenbau; and R. Yeager, Standards Testing Labs.

Session 3 on March 7 on "Tire industry structure and strategies" will include the following presentations: "The impact of end of life vehicle legislation on the tire and rubber industry," Tom Chatterley, MIRA; "Implications of implementing the landfill directive: 2003-2006" V. Shulman, ETRA; "Our world--our environment: Resolving our future challenges together today," Dr. S. Nielsen, BP Global Special Products; "The coalite pyrolysis process--a step forward," Dave Goucher, Coalite Tire Services Ltd.; and paper titles to be determined from F. Cinaralp, BLIC; and H. Gandhi, Gujaret Reclaim.

Registration costs for Tire Technology Expo 2003 range from $375 for a one-day pass to $875 for a three-day open delegate pass. Further information on the conference is available from U.K. International Press, tel.: [phone]; fax: [phone].