Product and materials evaluation testing has been revolutionized to meet the unique requirements of steel belted tires. Many of the classical cord and tire tests have been found to be inadequate and others to require modification. The development of many new test methods has been required. This paper discusses the tests used to characterize and evaluate steel for tires. These tests can be broadly divided into two categories:
1.
Tests evaluating the steel cord material such as tensile properties and mechanical properties.
2.
Tests evaluating the steel-rubber composite behavior such as adhesion and fatigue.
Test parameters, data accumulation and treatment, and significance of test results are discussed.
