The design of the tire construction is a process that a part is changed, added or deleted from a tire. There is no comprehensive analytical theory for tire construction due to the complexity. But one procedure for the mechanics of tire construction is the numerical method that the finite element method is combined with the optimization method using a genetic algorithm or other techniques. The design of belt and bead construction for conventional tires, as well as sidewall, wheel construction and the structure inside a tire for run-flat tires and silent tires will be discussed in this paper.
After the surface treatment of filler particles with silane coupling agent (SCA), the network structure and the hairy chains expected to be formed by the trialkoxy and the dialkoxy SCAs, respectively. The relaxation behavior measured by 1H pulse nuclear magnetic resonance (pulse NMR) showed that the network structure is rigid, whereas the hairy chain is flexible. The thermogravimetric (TG) analysis for the SCA-treated particles showed three-steps weight losses. Each step of was estimated as follows: The 1st-step is the evaporation of monomeric SCA without any interaction with surface. The 2nd-step is the physisorbed SCA formed hydrogen bonding with surface. The 3rd-step is the chemisorbed and physisorbed SCA oligomer and chemisorbed monomeric SCA. Pulse NMR and TG measurement were found to be useful for the characterization of SCA-treated layer.
Liquid state of polymers has unique mechanical properties called viscoelasticity: though it is a viscous liquid, it shows rubber-like elasticity for fast flows. Here I will discuss a few basics for the viscoelasticity of polymeric liquids, how to characterize it for small deformation, how to model it for large deformation, and how to understand it from molecular point of view.