Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, d.b.a. General Tire, is an American manufacturer of tires for motor vehicles. Founded in 1915 in Akron, Ohio by William Francis O'Neil, Winfred E. Fouse, Charles J. Jahant, Robert Iredell, & H.B. Pushee as The General Tire & Rubber Company (also referenced as The General Tire & Rubber Co.; commonly referred to as General Tire starting in the 1960s) using funding from O'Neil's father, Michael, who owned Akron's O'Neil's department store, the company later diversified (in 1984) into a conglomerate (GenCorp) with holdings in tires (General Tire), rubber compounds (DiversiTech General), rocketry and aeronautics (Aerojet), entertainment and news (RKO General), and real estate. The tire division was sold to Germany's Continental in 1987, becoming Continental Tire North America, before its re-incorporation again to its current name. The compounds division was spun off & became OMNOVA Solutions. The rocketry business was kept and expanded, and after a couple company name changes, the parent company is now Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings.
Most modern day automotive chassis control systems employ a feedback control structure. Therefore, a real-time estimate of the vehicle handling dynamic states and tyre-road contact parameters are invaluable for enhancing the performance of current vehicle control systems, such as anti-lock brake system (ABS) and electronic stability program (ESP). Today's production cars are equipped with onboard sensors (e.g., a 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, steering wheel angle sensor, and wheel speed sensors) which when used in conjunction with certain model based observers can be used to identify relevant vehicle states for optimal control of comfort, stability and handling. However, some key variables such as the tyre forces, road bank/grade angles, and the tyre-road friction coefficient, which have a significant impact on vehicle handling performance and safety are difficult to measure using sensors already onboard vehicles. This paper introduces an integrated vehicle state estimator comprising a series of model-based and kinematic-based observers for estimating these unmeasurable states. Using an appropriate vehicle model, kinematic equations of motion and vehicle sensor data, the unknown vehicle states as well as the tyre-road contact forces are estimated by implementing a series of observers arranged in a cascade structure. Key estimated signals include the vehicle side slip angle (β), tyre longitudinal/lateral/vertical forces, and the tyre-road friction coefficient (μ). The performance of the proposed estimators has been evaluated via computer simulations conducted using the vehicle dynamics software CarSim®. An effectively designed merging scheme ensures robust estimation performance even during the vehicle manoeuvres which show highly nonlinear tyre characteristics and in the existence of road inclination or bank angle.
The synthetic application of alkene ozonolysis is reviewed. Emphasis is placed on the scope of potential transformations, traditional and emerging reaction protocols and technologies, comparisons with other oxidations, and safety.
Properties of the interface between the filler and the matrix of a composite material draw research attention due to their contributions to the overall properties of the material, especially when the filler and the matrix differ significantly from each other. The work reported in this paper investigates the interface between amorphous carbon and a cross-linked synthetic natural rubber. The interface was experimentally simulated with the surfaces of a sputtering-coated carbon on a spherical Al 2 O 3 tip and a flat synthetic natural rubber sample. Step-loading and pull-out tests with a micro-/nano-indentation instrument were conducted. Fully relaxation of the samples occurred during both test procedures. The penetration depth, applied load, and experimental time were recorded during each test. The Johnson–Kendall–Roberts theory was used to analyze the data at the initial point (step-loading) and the final surface separation point (pull-out) to obtain the initial equivalent modulus, infinite equivalent modulus, work of adhesion, and the average normal interfacial strength at separation. It is found that the pull-out force and the work of adhesion depend on the unloading rate, but the infinite equivalent modulus and the average interfacial strength in the normal direction of the carbon–rubber interfaces are independent of the unloading rate in current experimental domain.
A sustainable production system for isoprene is being developed based on microbial fermentation of renewable sugars (BioIsoprene™). Isoprene is an important commodity chemical used in a wide range of industrial applications, ranging from the production of synthetic rubber for tires and coatings, to use in adhesives and development of specialty elastomers. Current production of isoprene is derived entirely from petrochemical sources. There is an increasing global need for more isoprene and a simultaneous environmental imperative to reduce greenhouse gases, both of which can be achieved by a highefficiency fermentation-based process for polymer-grade isoprene production. The key to such a process is engineering a microbial cell factory that is streamlined in physiology to drive sugar conversion through engineered biosynthetic pathways, to produce isoprene at near theoretical yields. Two biosynthetic isoprenoid pathways being optimized towards this end, and processes delivering >60g/L of isoprene are described. The product produced in the gas-phase is recovered from the fermentation off-gas in a continuous process. Current state-of-the-art technology has resulted in production, recovery, polymerization, and manufacture of tires with the isoprene component produced via fermentation. Continued improvements in both the cell factory and the production process are being actively pursued.
The Simplified Potential Energy Clock Model has been previously shown to predict accurately glassy polymer responses such as yield, creep, enthalpy relaxation, and physical aging. It was now used to predict the behavior of monofilament Nylon fiber. Even though the fibers showed process-induced anisotropy, the simpler isotropic model could be used to describe uniaxial tests. The model predictions again accurately predicted a wide range of Nylon experimental data.
