Development of a Passenger-Car Radial-Tyre Sidewall Compound by the Reactive Processing of an NR/BR/EPDM Blend in a Banbury Mixer

In the present study EPDM (of higher and lower ENB grade) was pretreated inside a Banbury chamber and then mixed with an NR/BR blend in a typical passenger-car radial formulation in order to overcome incompatibility issues arising out of the direct mixing of an NR/BR/EPDM blend. With incorporation of pretreated EPDM in an NR/BR blend, it was possible to reduce antidegradant and wax dosages, with improvement in ozone resistance, fatigue to failure, and cut growth properties.