Tailor-made one-part epoxy resin for tire compound to improve ride and handling and reduce rolling resistance

Tailor-made one-part epoxy resins with different softening points (75 °C, 110 °C and 140 °C) were used in tire bead apex compound. From the experimental results it was observed that epoxy having softening point 110 °C was most suitable among the epoxies studied. From dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) it was observed that there was significant increase in low strain storage modulus (E′) and sufficient decrease in tan δ at 60 °C after the addition of 5 phr of epoxy resin having softening point 110 °C (EP110). Higher storage modulus (E′) at low strain improves ride and handling of the car and lower tan δ value at 60 °C reduces rolling resistance (RR) of the tire. Dynamic Rubber Process Analyzer (D-RPA) results evidenced that epoxy improved rubber-filler interaction. The results indicated that one-part epoxy resin with suitable softening point (110 °C) could be used in tire compound to improve rubber-filler interaction, ride and handling, and to reduce RR.