synopsisAn experimental study of the linear viscoelastic and friction properties of passenger tire tread compounds containing realistic black and oil contents and several different types of elastomers including cispolyisoprene, cis-polybutadiene, emulsion polymerized polybutadiene, and three emulsion polymerized butadiene-styrene copolymers (SBR's) has been carried out. E' ( u ) and tan 6 were determined as a function of frequency and temperature.At any specific frequency and temperature, tan 8 was an increasing function of T, or a decreasing function of T -T,. When the tan &frequency data were plotted a t the same T -T,, d of the treads based upon emulsion-polymerized butadiene polymers yielded nearly the same curve. Wet coefficients of friction of the tread compounds correlated with both tan 6 and T -T, supporting the idea that lubricated friction is largely due to hysteresis. The correlation among the butadiene-styrene polymers was much better than with the natural rubber, which exhibits a lower tan 6 and a higher wet coefficient of friction than an SBR of the same T,. The experimental results are used to investigate the heat buildup and skid properties of tires containing these tread compounds.
INTRODUCTIONConsiderable concern exists about tire skid and traction on wet roads where accident rates are more than five times higher than on dry If we couple this with the rapid changeover in recent years from bias ply to bias-belted to radial ply tires, it indicates a growing need for quantitative tire dynamics supported by experimental data. It is well known that the primary dynamic characteristics of pneumatic tires are due to the cord construction of the so-called tire carcass. Indeed, most papel's treating the mechanics of tires are concerned with the inflation and deformation of membranes reinforced with cords.4 However, the road performance of tires is greatly modified by the composition of the tread which overlays this construction and contacts the road. This has long been realized with regard to skid resistance and tread abrasion.sSs It is our purpose in this paper to investigate the dynamic mechanical properties of the rubber compounds in tire treads and their interaction with wet and dry pavements. These experimental results will be used in conjunction with theoretical analyses to consider tire behavior.
WHITE AND LIN
BACKGROUNDWe begin by discussing the character and mechanical properties of tire tread compounds. It must first be noted that these compounds contain only about 50% rubber by weight, and another 50% consists of various fillers, notably finely divided carbon black and mineral oil. The recipe in Table I taken from Kienle et al.5 is typical. The rheological properties of these compounds are reasonably represented as being close to isotropic viscoelasticity (though some thixotropic character is often found? Thus, one may express the stress tensor as an hereditary functional of the deformation history8.Q which for small deformations of these materials may be represented by the Boltzmann equationl...