General Competition (November 1994)

Low-Cost Elastomeric Composites with Application to Vehicle Tires

Sponsor: Honeywell (formerly Allied Signal Inc.)

• Project Performance Period: 2/14/1995 - 2/13/1998
• Total project (est.): $4,152,000.00
• Requested ATP funds: $2,000,000.00

Tire manufacturing and disposal practices raise several important concerns for the United States. The concerns include control of the $50 billion world tire market, dissipation (and thereby waste) of energy by the materials now used in tires, and the challenge of tire disposal. As a step toward mitigating these problems, AlliedSignal Inc. proposes to investigate two processes for manufacturing low-cost, three-dimensional composites (hybrid, reinforced-matrix materials). The technology will be demonstrated using polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) fibers as reinforcement, an elastomeric material as the matrix, and an automobile tire as the structure. The key task is to develop fibers and composite architectures and manufacturing processes with the requisite combination of strength, modulus, and fatigue resistance. Potentially, PEN fiber-belted tires could displace steel-belted tires, allowing U.S. manufacturers to gain control of the tire market; the technology also would increase automotive fuel economy and make it easier to pulverize and recycle spent tires.

For project information:

Sean R. Healy, (201) 455-5198

ATP Project Manager

H. Felix Wu, (301) 975-4685
felix.wu@nist.gov