Systems for Tire Cord-Rubber Adhesion

Abstract

Abstract The last comprehensive review of tire-cord adhesion to rubber was reported by T. Takeyama and J. Matsui in Rubber Reviews for 1969. They covered this subject in depth from its scientific beginnings and dealt mostly with rayon, nylon, and polyester tire-cord adhesion. The objective of this present review will be to up-date the 1969 review. The resorcinol-formaldehyde-latex (RFL) adhesive system developed as a fiber adhesive in the early 1940's is still in use throughout the rubber industry at the present time. No other resin has replaced the resorcinol-formaldehyde resin and no other latex has replaced 2-vinylpyridine-butadiene-styrene latex as components in adhesive dip recipes. This will probably be true into the foreseeable future. There was really no need to improve the adhesion of rayon and nylon to rubber, so very little development work was done with the adhesion of these two fibers. However, a considerable amount of work was done with polyester adhesion and this coincided with the expanded use of poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers in passenger tires. Much of this effort was concerned with single-step adhesive dips where the adhesion activating ingredients were added to a standard RFL mixture.