Bridgestone Europe Nv/sa

Andrea Sabella

Paolo Straffi

Alessandra Bartoloni

Enrico Fresch

A process for the manufacture of a tread band for pneumatic tyres, wherein the blocks thereof comprise different rubber portions characterized by a different hysteresis loss. The process comprises a shredding step, wherein from a first and from a second rubber tread compound a plurality of fragments is manufactured with dimensions of between 6 and 30 mesh; a mixing step, wherein the fragments from the first and second compound are mixed together in order to obtain a mixture wherein the fragments are distributed in a random manner and retain their chemical/physical individuality; and an extrusion step, wherein the mixture from the preceding step is extruded for the manufacture of the tread band. The first and second compounds have different dynamic properties in terms of: dynamic modulus at 30° C., tanδ at 0° C., tanδ at 30° C. and tanδ at 60° C. The fragments retain a chemical/physical individuality both within the mixture formed during the mixing step and within the tread band formed during the extrusion step.

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Rome, Italy

Andrea Sabella