Tire Tread Polymer Composition Balancing Wet Grip and Resilience
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Solution Overview
Problem
The use of modified conjugated diene-based polymers in tire tread materials faces challenges in achieving sufficient impact resilience due to excessive dispersibility of fillers like silica, which compromises performance in wet grip, low heat build-up, and tensile strength.
Innovation Solution
A polymer composition is developed, comprising a conjugated diene-based polymer reaction product with a compound represented by specific general formulae, along with conjugated diene-based polymer particles. This composition balances processability with performance in impact resilience, wet grip, low loss property, and tensile strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a modified conjugated diene-based polymer is used to improve wet grip property and low loss property, then the dispersibility of filler increases, but impact resilience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite material system consisting of unmodified conjugated diene-based polymer and modified conjugated diene-based polymer in specific proportions (70-95 mass% unmodified and 5-30 mass% modified). This composite approach allows the unmodified polymer to maintain impact resilience while the modified polymer provides improved wet grip and low loss properties through enhanced filler dispersibility.
2Ease of manufacture
If the amount of filler is reduced to improve processability, then heat build-up decreases, but reinforcing property deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the polymer by introducing specific functional groups (carboxyl, hydroxyl, or amino groups) through modification with compounds having specific molecular structures. This modification enhances the interaction between the polymer and filler, allowing for improved processability while maintaining reinforcing properties through optimized polymer-filler interactions rather than relying solely on filler quantity.
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 polymer composition effectively produces tires with improved processability and balanced performance across impact resilience, wet grip, low loss property, and tensile strength, addressing the limitations of previous materials.
Implementation Method 1
a conjugated diene-based polymer (A) which is a reaction product between a polymer having an active polymerization end, the polymer being obtained by polymerizing a conjugated diene compound
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a polymer composition that has satisfactory processability, and is suited for the production of a tire highly well balanced among impact resilience, wet grip property, low loss property, and tensile strength. The polymer composition according to the invention contains: (A) a conjugated diene-based polymer that is a reaction product between a polymer having an active polymerization end, which is obtained by polymerizing a conjugated diene compound, or a conjugated diene compound and an aromatic vinyl compound, in the presence of an alkali metal compound or an alkaline earth metal compound, and a compound represented by any one of the general formulae (1) to (3); and (B) conjugated diene-based polymer particles.