Abstract

The development of various tire cord materials such as cotton, rayon, nylon, steel, polyester, fiber glass, and aramid used for the reinforcement of pneumatic tire is reviewed. Balanced properties developed through tailored cordrubber composite laminates required for optimum tire performance are described. A general overview of tire cord materials and subsequent processing steps necessary for the laminate structure integrity during varying tire service conditions are presented. Typical chemical and physical properties pertinent to anisotropic cordrubber composites are also described. Attempts to correlate cord mechanics and nonlinear viscoelastic responses of cordrubber laminates with tire performance are reviewed. Tire cord laboratory test methods used for chemical and physical characterization are described. The importance of tire cord cost structure and its value governed by tire performance is depicted. In addition, environmental factors affecting vehicle design leading to research efforts for future tire cord materials with high strength-to-weight ratio is postulated.