Rubber Tire As a Composite

By

BHAVYA NARANG- 133110001 M. Tech (Material Science Engg.) Supervisor

Prof. MJNV Prasad

Dept. of Metallurgical Engineering & Materials Science INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BOMBAY

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Rubber Tire Man-made Composite

Introduction:
A tire is a ring shaped covering that fits around a wheels rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance. The tire is an assembly of numerous components that are built up on a drum and then cured in a press under heat and pressure. Heat facilitates a polymerization reaction that crosslinks rubber monomers to create long elastic molecules. These polymers create the elastic quality that permits the tire to be compressed in the area where the tire contacts the road surface and spring back to its original shape under high-frequency cycles. Actually, a tire is an advanced engineering product made of a lot more than rubber. Fiber, textile, and steel cord are just some of the components that go into the tires inner liner, body plies, bead assembly, belts, sidewalls, and tread. As we can imagine, the manufacture of this complex product is, well, complex. It requires the latest technology, heavy equipment, precision instruments and most importantly qualified people.

Fig. Components of a Tire [7]

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Rubber compound formulation:

The two major ingredients in a rubber compound are the rubber itself and the filler, combined in such a way as to achieve different objectives. Depending on the intended use of the tire, the objective may be to optimize performance, to maximize traction in both wet and dry conditions, or to achieve superior rolling resistance. The desired objective can be achieved through the careful selection of one or more types of rubber, along with the type and amount of filler to blend with the rubber. The most popular fillers are carbon black and silica, and there are several types of each. The selection depends on the performance requirements, as they are different for the tread, sidewall, and apex. Other ingredients also come into play to aid in the processing of the tire or to function as anti-oxidants, anti-ozonants, and anti-aging agents.

Manufacturing process:
1) Compounding and mixing: Compounding is the operation of bringing together all the ingredients required to mix a batch of rubber compound. Each component has a different mix of ingredients according to the properties required for that component. Mixing is the process of applying mechanical work to the ingredients in order to blend them into a homogeneous substance. 2) Component preparation: Components fall into three classes based on manufacturing process: calendering, extrusion, and bead building. Calendaring - Process of squeezing the compound into a thin sheet. Fabric calendars produce an upper and lower rubber sheet with a layer of fabric in between. Steel calendars produce the same with steel cords. Extrusion - Process of applying heat and pressure on the compound and additional mixing of the compound. Bead building - Shaped like a hoop, it has coated high-tensile wires forming its backbone. The strands are aligned into a ribbon coated with rubber adhesion. 3) Tire Building: The tire building machine pre-shapes radial tires into a form very close to their final dimensions to make sure the many components are in their proper positions before the tire goes into the mould. 4) Curing: The curing press is where tires attain their final shape and tread pattern. Hot moulds like giant waffle irons shape and vulcanize the tire. The moulds are then engraved with the tread pattern and sidewall marking. Tires are cured at over 100 degrees Celsius for 12 to 25 minutes, depending on their size. As the press swings open, the tires are
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popped from their moulds onto a long conveyor that carries them to final finish and inspection.

Reinforcement Fillers:
Natural and synthetic rubbers, also called elastomers are rarely applied in their pure form. They are too weak to fulfill practical requirements. Fillers are used in order to improve the properties of rubber compounds. Rubber articles derive many of their mechanical properties from the admixture of these reinforcing (active) fillers at quantities of 30% up to as much as 300% relative to the rubber part. The primary reinforcing fillers used for the production of rubber articles are precipitated amorphous silica and carbon black. The compound production is a batch process where the rubber and the reinforcing filler are introduced into the internal mixer and the rotation of the paddles causes high energy shearing inside the mixer between the rubber, filler and other chemicals. This shearing causes an intimate mixing (or dispersion) to occur of the fillers and chemicals into the rubber matrix. Carbon Black - Total production of carbon black was around 8,100,000 metric tons (8,900,000 short tons) in 2006[1]. The most common use (70%) of carbon black is as a pigment and reinforcing phase in automobile tires. Carbon black also helps conduct heat away from the tread and belt area of the tire, reducing thermal damage and increasing tire life.

Effect of filler:
The reinforcing fillers used in tire compounding are critical to achieving the performance requirements. This is especially true for the tread compound with its large number of requirements and emphasis on wear resistance. The fillers provide a large degree of strengthening of the rubber network, resulting in a substantial increase in stiffness, tensile strength, and resistance to abrasion[2]. The reinforcing fillers achieve this via a high level of chemical links with the polymer network. The use of reinforcing fillers in tires improves both the strength and stiffness characteristics of the rubber polymer. Filled rubber polymer has significantly higher stiffness than unfilled rubber polymer at the same degree of deformation. Furthermore, filled rubber polymer has as well as considerably higher strength and deformation to break than unfilled rubber polymer[3]. The primary result of this strength improvement is the longevity of the tires, in terms of overall load bearing, durability, and treads wear performance[4-6]. A tire manufactured without the use of reinforcing fillers would not be strong enough to carry the load or handle the forces required by the vehicles of today.

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References:
1. "What is Carbon Black". International Carbon Black Association. Retrieved 2009-04-14. 2. Ten Brinke, A., Silica Reinforced Tire Rubbers: Mechanistic Aspects of the Role of Coupling Agents. 2002, University of Twente: Enschede. 3. Kraus, G., Reinforcement of Elastomers by Particulate Fillers, in Science and Technology of Rubber, F.Eirich, Editor. 1978, Academic Press: New York 4. Wischhusen, M., Balancing Rolling Resistance with Other Performance Characteristics. Tire Review, 2010. 5. Cabot Corporation. Tires: Application Information. 2011 [cited 2011 May 31, 2011] 6. Schaefer, D.W., et al., Multilevel structure of reinforcing silica and carbon. J. Appl. Crys., 2000. 33: p. 587591. 7. http://www.maxxis.com/AutomobileLight-Truck/How-a-Tire-is-Made.aspx#Rubber 8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_black

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