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Published on: July 18, 2012
Development of Sustainable Rubber Composites Reinforced with Silk Fabric for High-Performance Bicycle Tires: Material
Nantinee Choosang1,2, Saree Phongphanphanee1, Kwanchai Buaksuntear1,3
1Specialized Center of Rubber and Polymer Materials in Agriculture and Industry (RPM), Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
None:
Natural rubber (NR) composites reinforced with fabrics were prepared through compression molding by sandwiching a layer of fabric between two layers of NR. A range of composite properties were assessed, including adhesion and mechanical-thermal behavior. Cross-linked NR reinforced with silk fabric had better mechanical properties compared to the same NR reinforced with nylon fabric. Furthermore, silk fabric reinforced NR had a lower dissipation energy. This study combined material characterization with pilot-scale manufacturing of racing bicycle tires. It compared commercial nylon-reinforced tires with tires reinforced using silk fabric. The silk-reinforced tire performed better than the conventional nylon-reinforced tire in durability (129%), puncture resistance (157%), and cord tensile strength (243%). In addition, life cycle assessment (LCA) revealed significant environmental advantages of silk-reinforced tires, with reductions of over 80% in global warming potential (GWP), abiotic depletion of fossil resources, ozone depletion potential (ODP), and photochemical oxidation potential (POP) compared to nylon-reinforced tires. These results highlight silk fabric as a sustainable, high-performance alternative for commercial-scale, energy-saving racing bicycle tire applications.
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