[Report] "Boiling, Tearing, Running: Discovering Everything About Tires"

Korea Tire R&D Core 'TechnoDome'
Asia's Largest Testing Space 'TechnoRing'
Innovation Infrastructure Completed with Dual Engines

The ‘Korea Technodome,’ the core of Hankook Tire & Technology’s research and development (R&D), looked like a spaceship straight out of a science fiction movie. Located in Daejeon, the Technodome is built in the form of a massive saucer-shaped roof seemingly floating above water, with two underground floors and four above-ground floors. It is the first work in Korea by Norman Foster, the architect famous for futuristic buildings such as Apple’s new headquarters.

The Korea Technodome, which opened in 2015 with a construction cost of 266.4 billion KRW, is four times larger than before. Among the total 760 employees, about 700 are researchers, making it a truly ‘high-tech’ space.

Hankook Tire & Technology's electric vehicle-exclusive tire 'ION' is displayed on the first floor of Daejeon Korea Technodome.

◆The Core of Hankook Tire R&D: The Technodome=“It is a place where technology that boils, tears, and runs tires to find out everything is concentrated.”

The company defined the Korea Technodome in this way. While overseas local R&D centers in Germany, China, Japan, and the United States develop region-customized products, the Korea Technodome establishes future technology strategies and researches fundamental and applied technologies accordingly.

At the Flat Track F&M Laboratory, tire ‘running’ performance measurement was in full swing. All dynamic characteristics such as forward movement, steering, and braking are measured on an asphalt support rotating in the opposite direction to the tire. A Hankook Tire official explained, “It’s like a treadmill for tires,” adding, “It can measure speeds up to 250 km/h, so tires for F1 cars also pass through here.”

Interior space of Korea Technodome (Photo by Hankook Tire & Technology)

Next to it is the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Analysis Room. It is a space that thoroughly analyzes everything from tire raw materials to finished product structures. Similar to a hospital’s Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), it analyzes the structure of rubber and other raw materials using strong magnetism.

The Vulcanization Characteristics Testing Room is where tires are cured. When rubber mixed with various raw material ratios is cured in the vulcanization room, prototype tire pieces or miniature tires are produced. A Hankook Tire official explained, “We conduct various experiments to see if the desired characteristics for the finished product are achieved.”

There is also a space to understand the ‘strength’ of tires: the Tensile Testing Room. Here, rubber is pulled from both sides to measure the force at which it breaks. Since different parts of the tire require different characteristics, this room tests whether the rubber can withstand heat or force to meet the required conditions.

The Anechoic Chamber measures the noise of finished tires. Since electric vehicles have no engine noise, road noise is more noticeable, so this chamber was established to analyze it more precisely. It analyzes the level of NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness) generated on various road surfaces such as asphalt and regular sidewalks. The chamber is spacious enough to bring in not only a single tire but also an actual vehicle for testing.

The Driving Simulator Room even houses an actual car. It is the place where final-stage products come before testing on the track with real vehicles. After inputting data on the circuit, vehicle, occupants, and tires, driving is simulated in a virtual space. In the past, driving was also simulated virtually, but an actual vehicle was placed here to provide a more vivid steering sensation.

On the 17th, tire testing vehicles are parked in front of the main building of Korea Techno Ring in Taean, Chungnam.

◆Final Refinement at Asia’s Largest Test Track=Tires that pass through here are moved to the Korea Technoring in Taean for final testing. Completed in 2022, this site covers approximately 1.26 million square meters?about the size of 125 soccer fields?and features a total of 13 tracks. It is the largest and longest test surface in Asia and ranks among the top three worldwide. Here, tires for all vehicles?from supercars to regular passenger cars, trucks, and buses?can be tested. Test data is linked with the Korea Technodome via the cloud for immediate feedback integration.

On this day, test driving was conducted at the Technoring with a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N equipped with the electric vehicle-specific tire ‘ION EVO SUV’ on dry roads, wet roads, and the VDA oval track. On dry roads, the tire firmly withstood speeds of up to 200 km/h. At speeds below 180 km/h, the tire maintained consistent grip even on banked (tilted) roads where the vehicle could potentially roll over. On wet roads, the tire remained stable even when the vehicle swayed left and right at high speeds. Although the vehicle’s interior shook somewhat, the wheels themselves did not slip significantly and moved forward smoothly.

A Hankook Tire official said, “The diameter of the VDA track is 240 meters, designed so that even if the vehicle slips, it can safely brake,” adding, “It allows systematic real-vehicle testing on various roads and extreme conditions, eliminating the need to move between multiple scattered test sites, thereby ensuring the reliability and continuity of test data.”