Low-Pressure Plasma Treatment for Rubber Bladder Adhesion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for treating the inner liner of vehicle tires to prevent adhesion issues during the vulcanization process are inefficient, as release agents often transfer to the tire, requiring costly and polluting cleaning processes, and mechanical roughening can damage the liner, while current surface treatments do not effectively prevent adhesion without damaging the surface.
Innovation Solution
A low-pressure plasma treatment using fluorine gases like tetrafluormethane and hexafluorethane is applied to the rubber bladder surfaces, providing highly repellent properties that prevent adhesion with the tire mixture, allowing for easy separation and eliminating the need for repeated release agent application, with the treatment lasting for the expected lifetime of the bladder.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If release agents are applied to the bladder surface to prevent adhesion during vulcanization, then the bladder can be separated from the tyre, but the release agent transfers to the inner liner causing cleaning problems and requiring expensive cleaning processes
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of applying a release agent to prevent adhesion, the invention applies a plasma treatment that creates a permanently repellent surface on the bladder. This inverted approach eliminates the need for release agents while preventing adhesion through the modified surface properties of the bladder itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the chemical release agent system with a physical plasma treatment process. The plasma treatment modifies the bladder surface at a molecular level to create permanent repellency, substituting the need for chemical coatings with a physical surface modification process.
2Ease of operation
If mechanical roughening is applied to the inner liner to prevent adhesion, then the surface prevents sticking, but the inner liner is damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces mechanical roughening with plasma treatment. Instead of mechanically altering the inner liner surface, the plasma treatment chemically modifies the bladder surface to create permanent repellency, eliminating the need for mechanical damage to the inner liner.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If cleaning processes are used to remove release agent from the inner liner, then the liner is cleaned, but the processes are expensive and high energy consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces energy-intensive cleaning processes with a plasma treatment process that prevents adhesion in the first place. By modifying the bladder surface properties through plasma, the need for subsequent cleaning operations is eliminated.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention converts the potential harm of adhesion into a benefit by using plasma treatment to create permanent repellency. Instead of dealing with the harmful effects of release agent transfer and requiring energy-intensive cleaning, the plasma treatment prevents the problem before it occurs.
4Ease of operation
If release agent is applied repeatedly to the bladder, then adhesion prevention is maintained, but labor and time are consumed and the release agent is polluting
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies a preliminary plasma treatment to the bladder surface that creates permanent repellency. This preliminary action eliminates the need for repeated release agent applications throughout the bladder's service life, saving time and labor.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the repetitive manual application process with a single plasma treatment process. The plasma treatment modifies the surface at a molecular level to create permanent properties, substituting repeated manual operations with a single automated process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The plasma treatment effectively prevents adhesion between the bladder and the tire, reducing labor and environmental impact by eliminating the need for frequent release agent application and unsatisfactory cleaning processes, while maintaining the bladder's integrity and performance throughout its lifespan.
Implementation Method 1
A low-pressure plasma treatment using fluorine gases like tetrafluormethane and hexafluorethane is applied to the rubber bladder surfaces
Data Source
AI summary
A method of treating a surface of an object comprising a rubber material and in particular a bladder for use in a process for making a vehicle tire. The method comprises subjecting the surface to a gas at a low pressure at which the gas is susceptible of forming plasma, and causing the gas to form plasma. In order to obtain repellent properties of the surface of the rubber material fluorine gas such as tetrafluormethane or hexafluorethane is used. Preferably the treatment is performed until there is obtained a surface layer of the rubber material with properties modified by the treatment having an expected lifetime corresponding to the expected lifetime of the object.