| TECHNOLOGY |
The team members were investigating ways to make a relatively inexpensive, micrometers-thick coating to replace the costly millimeter-thick layer of butyl rubber on a car or truck tire's inner lining. That's a $1 billion market worldwide that Co. hopes to attack. The ultrathin coating would be lighter than the butyl layer. Weight savings combined with the lower rolling resistance contributed by the microcoating means a tire would not only run cooler but would also save gas. Someday, Co.'s coating could make tires that hold air so well that "you might be able to go two to three years without having to check your tire's air pressure. That's because variants of the coating have gas permeability up to 130 times lower than butyl rubber alone. Co prepares its coatings as an aqueous dispersion of exfoliated vermiculite and butyl rubber. As the dispersion dries inside a tire the clay forms thin, overlapping sheets that serve as an impenetrable air barrier. To maintain flexibility, the clay content can go only as high as 20%. But this concentration still allows the formation of a 20-micro-m -thick layer with the same air retention as a much thicker and heavier butyl rubber sheet. However, Co says, he is not offering a panacea for all tire pressure problems. "If you go over a nail, you will still get a flat." |
| UPDATE | 12.02 |
| COMPANY | This data is not available for free |
| LITERATURE REF. | This data is not available for free |
|
Want more information ? Interested in the hidden information ? Click here and do your request. |