Investigation of the effects of adhesion promoters on the adhesion properties of rubber/steel cord by a new testing technique

The effects of adhesion promoters, cobalt decanoate and PN759 (modified resorcinol) on the static and dynamic adhesion properties of rubber/steel cord in a carcass recipe are examined. A new testing method with special rubber/steel cord specimens was developed. It was found that cobalt decanoate could improve the static adhesion and favored the dynamic adhesion of rubber/steel cord so that adhesive failure mainly occurred in rubber phase. A resorcinol‐formaldehyde‐silica promoting system was deleterious to adhesion stability, but improved initial adhesion strength. PN759 improved the dynamic mechanical properties compared with resorcinol for the carcass vulcanizates at strains less than 10%. PN759 instead of resorcinol slightly improved the static and dynamic adhesion and the probability that adhesion failure occurred in the interphase was similar to that occurring in the rubber phase. The dynamic “pull‐out forces” for samples with 1.0 phr cobalt decanoate first increased and then decreased with the increase in the number of fatigue cycles and reached a maximum at 100,000 fatigue cycles. The covered rubber on the “pulled‐out” cord after fatigue appeared to form a screw thread form and the greater pull‐out force corresponded to more uniform and narrower screw threads. SEM images indicated that un‐dispersed filler agglomerates could be the initiating factor for adhesive failure. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39460.