Stability of the Rubber-Brass Interface in Tires – Is There Room for Further Improvement?

The interface between brass-plated steel tire cords and the belt skim compound has been studied by tire and tire cord companies as well as universities since 1975 and seems to be well understood. From time to time new papers on this topic are still published. This presentation attempts to summarize what is known about this interface and its stability and focuses on some recent developments such as the amorphous/crystalline transition of the interfacial sulfide and the potential of using other bonding agents than the traditional brass coating.