WINTER TRACTION EFFECT OF TREAD COMPOUND

THE PAPER REPORTS RESEARCH ORK ON TRACTION ON ICE. THE LOW FRICTION OF RUBBER ON ICE ARISES FROM ITS SELFLUBRICATING PROPERTY. FRICTIONAL HEATING DUE TO SLIDING RUBBER, MELTS THE ICE AND PRODUCES A FILM OF WATER BETWEEN TIRE AND ICE. A FIGURE IS PRESENTED WHICH ILLUSTRATES THE EFFECT OF ICE TEMPERATURE ON THE COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION OF STYRENE BUTADIENE RUBBER (SBR). AS THE TEMPERATURE OF THE ICE IS DECREASED, FRICTION RISES FROM ABOUT 0 ON MELTING ICE AND THEN LEVELS OFF AT ABOUT 3.0. FOR COMPARISON, A VALUE OF ABOUT 2.0 WOULD BE EXPECTED FROM THE SAME COMPOUND ON SMOOTH DRY SURFACES UNDER THE SAME TEST CONDITIONS. FRICTION ON ICE SHOWS SOME DEPENDENCE ON COMPOUND HARDNESS. A GRAPH ILLUSTRATES DATA PLOTTTED FOR NATURAL RUBBER AND A 35 PERCENT STYRENE SBR AT VARIOUS BLACK LOADINGS. THE COEFFICIENTS OF FRICTION OF VARIOUS BUTADIENE-STYRENE POLYMERS AT AN ICE TEMPERATURE OF 27 F, PLOTTED AS A FUNCTION OF STYRENE CONTRACT IS ILLUSTRATED IN A FIGURE. INCREASING STYRENE CONTENT RAISES THE SECOND-ORDER TRANSITION TEMPERATURE OF A POLYMER AND THEREFORE INCREASES LOW-TEMPERATURE STIFFENING. THE HARDNESS AND ICE-FRICTION HAVE BEEN PLOTTED FOR NATURAL RUBBER, SBR, AND A 45 PERCENT STYRENE SBR OVER A RANGE OF TEST-PIECE TEMPERATURES. THERE APPEARS TO BE A CORRELATION BETWEEN ICE-FRICTION AND COMPOUND HARDNESS WITH NO EVIDENCE OF SPECIFIC POLYMER EFFECTS. THE HARDNESS EFFECT IS DISCUSSED, AS IS ALSO THE EFFECTS OF THE USE OF VERY HIGH POLYBUTADIENE BLENDS. IT IS CONCLUDED, ON THE BASIS OF THESE STUDIES, THAT IN THE TEMPERATURE RANGE OF 32 TO 10F, THE INFLUENCE OF THE POLYMER ON WINTER TRACTION APPEARS TO BE SMALL AND THE SBR-BR BLENDS USED IN NORTH AMERICA ARE PROBABLY NEAR OPTIMUM FOR OVERALL PERFORMANCE.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1973/477/477-010.pdf
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309022630
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Sponsored by Committee on Winter Driving Traction Aids. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Hodgkinson, George T
• Conference:
  • 52nd Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board
  • Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
  • Date: 1973-1-22 to 1973-1-26
• Publication Date: 1973

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures;
• Pagination: pp 47-48
• Monograph Title: Winter driving traction aids
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 477
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Butadiene; Chemical compounds; Coefficient of friction; Copolymers; Driving; Hazards; Ice; Polymers; Risk assessment; Styrenes; Temperature; Testing; Tire treads; Tires; Traction; Winter
• Uncontrolled Terms: Styrene butadiene copolymers
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00217399
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309022630
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jul 31 1989 12:00AM