Development of tyre tread compounds for good wet-grip : effects of rubber type

The present work reported the study of the effects of type of rubber on energy loss of tyre tread compounds for radial tyres which determines wet-grip properties of the tyres derived from them. The types of rubbers studied were solution SBR (S-SBR), emulsion SBR (E-SBR), functionalized S-SBR (FS-SBR), natural rubber (NR), functionalized NR (CNR), butadiene rubber (BR) and their selected blends.The wet-grip property was assessed by measuring tan δ at 0°C. It was found that FS-SBR gave tread compound with the best wet-grip property followed by S-SBR, CNR, E-SBR, NR and BR. Blends of SBR with lower ranking rubbers (CNR, NR and BR) also gave lower values of tan δ at 0°C or poorer wet-grip properties. The results can be explained by the viscoelastic properties of the rubbers and their interactions with silica.