Branched Thermoplastic Elastomer Composition for Tire Tread Heat Rigidity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tire treads face challenges in balancing grip on wet surfaces with reduced rolling resistance, and they often suffer from inadequate high-temperature rigidity, leading to performance issues such as softening during braking cycles.
Innovation Solution
A polymerical composition comprising 50 to 100 PCE of trendy thermoplastic elastomers with unsaturated elastomer blocks and at least three styrenic thermoplastic blocks, combined with styrenic thermoplastic polymers of specific molecular mass ranges, which enhances room temperature rigidity, thermal stability, and mechanical properties while simplifying formulations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If thermoplastic elastomer is used in tread to improve grip and reduce rolling resistance, then grip and rolling resistance performance are improved, but high temperature stiffness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines thermoplastic elastomer with at least one of the following: crystalline thermoplastic polymer, amorphous thermoplastic polymer with Tg ≥ 80°C, or thermoplastic polymer with melting point ≥ 80°C. This composite approach allows the tread to maintain the low-temperature flexibility and hysteresis benefits of thermoplastic elastomer while incorporating high-temperature structural support from the additional polymer components, thereby resolving the contradiction between grip/rolling resistance and high-temperature stiffness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent specifies precise compositional parameters: thermoplastic elastomer content of 30-100 parts by weight, with the additional thermoplastic polymer content controlled at 5-70 parts by weight. The molecular weight of the additional polymer is also constrained (20,000-500,000 g/mol). By optimizing these parameters, the formulation achieves a balance where the tread maintains adequate stiffness at high temperatures while preserving the low-temperature performance benefits.
2Strength
If room temperature stiffness is improved in thermoplastic elastomer tread, then mechanical properties are improved, but temperature resistance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite system where the first thermoplastic polymer provides room-temperature stiffness and structural integrity, while the second polymer component (with higher Tg or melting point) provides high-temperature stability. The synergistic interaction between these two polymer systems allows the tread to maintain mechanical properties across a wide temperature range, resolving the contradiction between room-temperature stiffness and temperature resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent effectively creates different functional zones within the tread material: the thermoplastic elastomer phase provides low-temperature flexibility and energy dissipation, while the crystalline or high-Tg thermoplastic polymer phases provide high-temperature structural support. This local differentiation of material properties within the composite allows simultaneous optimization of room-temperature and high-temperature performance.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a polymer composition comprising a) 50 to 100 phr of one or more branched thermoplastic elastomers, each comprising an unsaturated elastomer block and at least three thermoplastic styrene blocks, the thermoplastic styrene blocks of each branched thermoplastic elastomer representing from 15 to 75%, preferably from 15 to 50%, by weight of the weight of each branched thermoplastic elastomer, b) 10 to 100 phr of one or more thermoplastic styrene polymers having a molecular weight of between 25 000 and 300 000 g/mol, preferably between 50 000 and 200 000 g/mol.