TOKYO (Oct. 31, 2012) — By exploiting properties at nano scale — about 100 nm — Bridgestone Corp. and development partners have created a rubber material that delivers lower rolling resistance and better abrasion resistance.
The development is described in a Japanese-language document from NEDO, Japan’s largest public R&D management organization. Bridgestone worked with NEDO and synthetic rubber producer JSR Corp.
The development promises to reduce rolling resistance by a further 20 percent beyond today’s state-of-the-art, represented by Japan’s AAA tire label.
It also improves wear resistance by approximately 26 percent, according to the report.
The material is based around a solution styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) with end-group modification, and with improved rubber-filler interaction.
Bridgestone said the breakthrough was achieved by independent control of the compound at three different scales: 1000 nm; 100 nm and 10 nm.
The Tokyo-based tire maker said it will implement the technology as soon as possible.
Source: tirebusiness.com
