The use of a magnetic field in the assessment of the operating loads of pneumatic tires

Steel is a typical construction material with ferromagnetic properties. This material is often used as a structural component of composites whose task is to transfer mechanical loads. This function is performed by the steel wires placed inside the tires. The aim of the preliminary tests was to determine the influence of air pressure changes in the pneumatic wheel on the distribution of the magnetic field observed outside the tire. The research used a magnetostrictive sensor that reacts to changes in magnetic induction. A sensor with three perpendicular measurement directions was used, and the components of the magnetic induction vector were measured at selected measurement points located in the space surrounding the tested tire. During the tests, measurements were made of the tire’s magnetic field under various load conditions. The results confirmed the occurrence of measurable effects of changes in the magnetic field distribution of the tire depending on the pressure inside.