Before the tire temperature of a Liebherr reach stacker reaches a critical level where tire wear would increase excessively, the new Smart Tyre System automatically reduces the machine speed. As soon as the tires return to a low-temperature level, the power is increased again. This ensures maximum performance and protects the tires from excessive wear.
When considering the life-cycle costs of a reach stacker, the tires play a significant role. It is also known that overheating of the tire is one of the main reasons for premature tire wear. Liebherr engineers, therefore, took up the challenge of developing an innovative countermeasure. Customers who operate their reach stacker for more than eight hours at a time generally experience high tire wear, regardless of which reach stacker manufacturer or tire brand is used. To prevent overheating, some customers generally reduce the speed of the reach stacker, which leads to a loss of performance and therefore efficiency.
The newly developed Liebherr Smart Tyre Saving System estimates the temperature increase of the tire based on the axle load and the speed of the reach stacker and only reduces the speed if it is necessary. This allows the reach stacker to run at full speed until the tires threaten to become hot. As soon as the point of increased overheating is reached, the machine is briefly throttled back systemically until the tires have reached a temperature again that does not cause increased wear. The rider can then continue to ride at full speed.
How the system works
In several field tests, the correlation between the so-called TpKh (tonnes times kilometers per hour) value and the tire temperature could be determined. The TpKh value relates the tire load to the actual speed of the reach stacker and thus shows the development of the thermal tire load. Tracking this value during operation enables a sensible reduction in speed to cool down the tires before they reach a critical temperature. A major advantage: no additional temperature sensors are required for monitoring.
Reduces tire wear and increases efficiency
Until now, it was common practice to generally reduce the speed of the reach stacker to avoid thermal overload of the tire. This approach was accompanied by a general loss of handling performance. With the intelligent tire protection for Liebherr reach stackers, a suitable solution is now available to increase handling performance and save tire wear at the same time. The advantages are obvious. Tire wear is reduced and thus the service life of the tire is significantly extended. This contribution to sustainability clearly benefits the environment and also saves downtime. In addition, the short-term decrease of the machine’s power does not unnecessarily reduce the general efficiency of the reach stacker. The higher efficiency and lower tire wear save the equipment operator a lot of money in the long run.
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