Multilayer Quadlayer Coating for Tire Inner Liner Gas Barrier
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tires suffer from permeability issues, allowing oxygen to oxidize steel belts and leading to inefficient air retention, resulting in increased rolling resistance and air pressure loss over time.
Innovation Solution
A multilayer thin film coating method is applied to a rubber substrate, alternately depositing positive and negative charged layers to form a quadlayer that acts as a gas transmission retardant, comprising a combination of cationic and anionic layers to enhance barrier performance and air retention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional rubber inner liner is used in a tire, then the tire structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the inner liner exhibits high gas permeability allowing oxygen to migrate through to the steel belts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by creating a multilayer coating system consisting of alternating cationic and anionic layers deposited on the rubber inner liner. This quadlayer structure combines different charged polymers to achieve superior gas barrier properties that neither single material could provide alone, directly resolving the contradiction between maintaining simple rubber construction and achieving high barrier performance
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the barrier function into multiple distinct layers with alternating charges. Instead of using a single homogeneous coating, the inner liner surface is divided into four functional layers (cationic-anionic-cationic-anionic) that work synergistically to reduce gas permeability, thereby improving reliability without requiring complete structural redesign
2Reliability
If the inner liner allows oxygen permeability, then air can be retained in the tire, but oxygen migration facilitates oxidation of steel belts and reduces tire life
Solution Approach 1:
The multilayer coating acts as an intermediary barrier between the oxygen-containing air inside the tire and the steel belts. The alternating cationic and anionic layers create a tortuous path that mediates oxygen transmission, allowing air retention while preventing direct oxygen contact with steel belts, thus protecting against oxidation without sacrificing air pressure maintenance
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical-chemical parameters of the inner liner surface by depositing charged polymer layers that alter gas permeability characteristics. The multilayer structure modifies the transmission parameters for oxygen and other gases, reducing oxygen transmission while maintaining the necessary properties for air retention, thereby resolving the contradiction between oxygen blocking and air retention
3Reliability
If conventional rubber material is used for the inner liner, then manufacturing is simple, but air pressure is lost over time increasing rolling resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by depositing the multilayer coating on the inner liner before the tire is fully assembled and put into service. The cationic and anionic layers are sequentially deposited on the rubber substrate in advance, creating a pre-formed barrier structure that will maintain air pressure throughout the tire's operational life, thereby improving air retention without requiring complex post-manufacturing processes
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 quadlayer significantly reduces gas and vapor transmission through the rubber substrate, improving air retention and extending tire life by minimizing oxygen migration and air pressure loss.
Implementation Method 1
exposing the rubber substrate to a first cationic solution to produce a first cationic layer on the rubber substrate. The method also includes exposing the first cationic layer to a first anionic solution to produce a first anionic layer on the first cationic layer
Data Source
AI summary
A tire has a coating with a quadlayer or multiple quadlayers, and a method produces the same. In an embodiment, the method for coating a rubber substrate includes exposing the rubber substrate to a first cationic solution to produce a first cationic layer on the rubber substrate. The method also includes exposing the first cationic layer to a first anionic solution to produce a first anionic layer on the first cationic layer. In addition, the method includes exposing the first anionic layer to a second cationic solution to produce a second cationic layer on the first anionic layer. The method further includes exposing the second cationic layer to a second anionic solution to produce a second anionic layer on the second cationic layer. A quadlayer includes the first cationic layer, the first anionic layer, the second cationic layer, and the second anionic layer. The coating includes the quadlayer.