Tire Tread Composition Using Polyphenylene Ether Resin
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tire treads face challenges in balancing rolling resistance and wet grip performance, as existing compositions often compromise on one property to improve the other.
Innovation Solution
A tire tread composition incorporating a diene elastomer, a thermoplastic elastomer with SBR and PS blocks, and a thermoplastic resin based on optionally substituted polyphenylene ether units, which provides a balanced performance by optimizing the content of these components within specific ranges to enhance both rolling resistance and wet grip.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional diene elastomer compositions are used in the tread, then the tread provides basic durability and structure, but the balance between rolling resistance and wet grip performance is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining diene elastomer (35-99 phr), thermoplastic elastomer (1-65 phr), and thermoplastic resin containing polyphenylene ether units (1-50 phr) to create a tread composition that simultaneously improves wet grip and reduces rolling resistance. This multi-component composite system resolves the contradiction by integrating materials with complementary properties that neither component could achieve alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs parameter changes by precisely controlling the content ranges of each component (diene elastomer: 35-99 phr, thermoplastic elastomer: 1-65 phr, thermoplastic resin: 1-50 phr) and the polyphenylene ether unit content (1-50 mol%). These parameter optimizations enable the tread to achieve both low rolling resistance and high wet grip performance by tuning the composition to specific performance targets.
2Reliability
If more reinforcing filler is added to improve wet grip, then wet grip performance improves, but processing ease and economic efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reduces reinforcing filler content by optimizing the polymer composition parameters. The specific combination and ratios of diene elastomer, thermoplastic elastomer, and thermoplastic resin with polyphenylene ether units provide sufficient performance at lower filler levels, improving processing ease and economic efficiency while maintaining wet grip performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials to replace the need for excessive reinforcing filler. The synergistic combination of three polymer components creates a system where the polymers themselves contribute to performance, reducing dependence on filler and thereby improving manufacturability and cost-effectiveness.
3Ease of manufacture
If more plasticizer is added to improve processing ease, then processing ease improves, but the balance of performance properties and economic efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the composition parameters to achieve good processing ease without excessive plasticizer. The thermoplastic elastomer and thermoplastic resin components inherently provide processability, allowing the formulation to maintain performance balance while reducing plasticizer dependency through precise parameter control.
Data Source
AI summary
A tire comprises a tread, a crown with a crown reinforcement, two sidewalls, two beads, a carcass reinforcement anchored to the two beads and extending from one sidewall to the other, characterized in that the tread comprises a composition based on at least a diene elastomer, at a content of between 35 and 99 phr (parts by weight per hundred parts of elastomer), a thermoplastic elastomer, at a content of between 1 and 65 phr, and a thermoplastic resin comprising optionally substituted polyphenylene ether units, said thermoplastic elastomer being a block copolymer comprising at least one elastomer block of optionally hydrogenated butadiene/styrene random copolymer type and at least one thermoplastic block of styrene type.