Experimental Investigation of Crack Generation in Rubber Compounds Used for Tire Applications

Tires are the complex composite product of filled-rubber, steel, and fiber cords, made of as many as 20 components. Filled-rubber used for each component has a different formulation, characteristic, and physical property. Each component of tire is designed to have a set of properties to perform a unique functionality. These different components of tire are adhered together by chemical bonding, van der Waals force, or electrostatic attraction. During the motion of the tire, each rubber component is under continuous fatigue loading, which may cause failure at some critical location in the tire. This research study mainly focuses on establishing the experimental framework for failure in rubber components due to crack generation. An experimental study was carried out on machine fatigue to failure testing (FTFT) for evaluating the life of rubber samples. Further surfaces of failed samples have been studied and compared through advanced microscopy.