Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin

Cornell University

Lehigh University

Constantine Khripin

Stefan Voss

Xavier Saintigny

Jessica McDowell

Etienne Munch

Anand Jagota

Anne-Frédérique Salit Salit

Clifford Wilson

Christopher Pappas

Nichole Moyle

Anne-Frédérîque Salit

Frederic Vautard

Jeremy John Mehlem

Chung Yuen Hui

Tingdong Lin

Stephen Vance

Florian Bremond

Haibin Wu

Anne-Frédérique Salit

François Jean-Baptiste-Dit-Dominique

Séverin Dronet

An inner liner for an elastomeric articles is provided. The inner liner contains platy mineral particles having a mean aspect ratio of less than three, where at least about 30% or more of the platy mineral particles have an aspect ratio of 2 or greater. Furthermore, an inflatable article, such as a tire, that includes an inner liner containing the platy mineral particles, is also provided.

Inner liner with improved permeability properties

An article of manufacture comprising: (a) a body at least a portion of which is a multi-phase material (MPM) defining a traction surface; (b) the MPM comprising at least first and second zones comprising first and second materials, M1, M2, respectively, at or near the traction surface, the M1 and M2 having first and second Young moduli respectively, the first and second moduli differing by at least a factor of 3; and (c) wherein each of the second zones has a center, and wherein the second zones have a center-to-center radial distribution function having a peak at between 10 μm and 10 mm.

Material with enhanced sliding friction

Methods for producing a cross-linkable rubber composition that comprises a masterbatch are disclosed. The masterbatch comprising a base masterbatch and the method includes forming the base masterbatch by adding a diene rubber to an internal mixer; adding a total quantity of a solid agglomerated material that includes carbon nanotubes into the mixing chamber; and mixing the diene elastomer and the solid agglomerated material. To ensure adequate distribution and dispersion of the material, the base masterbatch has a minimum Mooney viscosity ML(1+4)100 of at least 85 MU.

Method for producing rubber compositions with disaggregated carbon nanotubes

Rubber compositions having a modified rubber component selected from a modified polybutadiene rubber, a modified styrene-butadiene rubber, or combinations thereof, the modification being with a functional group having a hydrogen bond acceptor atom. Such functional group may be selected from a pyridine, a pyrrolidone, an ether, a ketone or an epoxide, the rubber composition having a Tg of between &#x2212;80&#xb0; C. and &#x2212;110&#xb0; C. The rubber composition may include an efficient plasticizing resin, which when included in a mixture consisting of the modified rubber component and 67 phr of the efficient plasticizing resin, causes a Tg of the mixture to be at least 14&#xb0; C. higher than the Tg of the modified rubber component. The rubber composition may described as having the hydrogen bond acceptor atom located at least two covalent bond lengths or alternatively three covalent bond lengths from a backbone of the modified rubber component.

Functionalized rubber composition

Methods for in situ isomerization if polybutadiene may include adding mixture components of the cross-linkable rubber composition into a mixer, the mixture components comprising at least 10 phr of a polybutadiene rubber having at least 80 wt % cis-bonds and up to 90 phr of a second rubber component having at least some dienic unsaturation and mixing the mixture components during a nonproductive phase. Such methods may include processing the mixture components on a mill during a productive phase, adding at least 3 phr of a disulfide isomerization agent and mixing the disulfide isomerization agent with the mixture components. The mixing may take place in an internal mixer with the isomerization agent added to the mixer or alternatively, it may be added to the mill after the mixture components have been dropped from the mixer for cooling on the mill.

Method for in situ isomerization of polybutadiene

Growing community of inventors

Simpsonville, SC, United States of America

Constantine Khripin