Miscible S‐SBR (solution styrene–butadiene copolymer)/BR (polybutadiene homopolymer) blends are used in multiple applications like modern passenger car tire treads. Despite their miscibility, there is a problem to predict tire performance due to dynamical heterogeneities present in the S‐SBR/BR blends. On the one hand, S‐SBR/BR blends have a thermorheologically complex behavior, which complicates the prediction of the temperature‐ and frequency‐dependence of material properties. On the other hand, due to differences in the polarity of the individual components, the extender oils used in the elastomeric compounds could distribute unequally within the blends, where little is known about how oils interact with the two polymers. In this work a combination of Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Dynamic Mechanical Analysis, and Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy (BDS) is used to clarify: (i) the thermorheological complexity of S‐SBR/BR blends, (ii) the effect of the extender oil on the blend. The broad frequency operation of BDS allows for the analysis of the S‐SBR and BR component dynamics and the effect of the oil on each of them within an S‐SBR/BR (50/50) blend. Based on the discretization of individual component dynamics in the blend, conclusive remarks are made on the effect of the extender oil for either component in the blend. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018, 56, 842–854

Edouard Michelin equipped for the first time a car with pneumatic tires in 1895 [10].In the same year, the American J.F. Palmer moved to England and registered a company by name 'Palmer Tire Company', where he started for the first time the production of pneumatic car tires that used non-stretching fabric [11]. J.B. Dunlop also produced automobiles with air inflated tires in England, followed by B.F. Goodrich in the U.S. [12]. Further improvements in tire technology were reached as the accelerators for the vulcanization process and the reinforcing effect of carbon black were discovered. Eventually, it was understood that the utility of rubber is dependent on its elasticity and the quick retraction ability upon application of stress.The ever increasing demand for natural rubber led to frantic efforts for collecting more and more amounts of rubber latex from the wild rubber trees widely spread across the forests in Belgian Congo and South America [13]. Furthermore, the rising prices of NR, long transport distances and a continuous threat that the which the rubber chains [21][22][23]. Following this way, rubber chains can be chemically bound to the surface of the silica filler to form an immobilized layer around the silica particle. Rubber chains can also be physically adsorbed at the filler surface to create a layer of restricted mobility. This leads to a two layer bound rubber formation in the silica -bi-functional silane system: a chemically bound layer and a physically bound Part 2: Study of pure polymer(s) and blend relaxation dynamics to evaluate the influence of process oils: mineral-based TDAE / bio-based Vivamax 5000 (V5000) on each component polymer of the S-SBR / BR blends. In this part only unfilled compounds are examined. The pure polymers High Vinyl and Low Styrene (HVLS) S-SBR, Low Vinyl and High Styrene (LVHS), high cis-BR, HVLS S-SBR / high cis-BR and LVHS S-SBR / high cis-BR blends in 70 / 30 and 50 / 50 wt. ratios are studied by means of Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy (BDS) and Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS): see Table 1.1 for the microstructure of the polymers used. DMA, BDS and PALS have different governing principles, which provides an opportunity to study individual relaxation dynamics of the blend components through different approaches [28]. This part has been divided into 4 chapters as follows: Chapter 7 (Wet Skid Resistance with Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy: Concept) discusses the mechanism behind the skidding behavior, the limitations in the existing methods to predict WSR of tire tread compounds and introduces BDS as a more realistic tool to estimate the WSR performance. The silicabi-functional silane filled HVLS and LVHS S-SBR / high cis-BR compounds in 100 / 0; 90 / 10; 80 / 20; 70 / 30; 60 / 40 wt. ratios are evaluated using the DMA and the BDS seriesHot non-pigmented emulsion SBR (polymerized above 38 °C) seriesCold non-pigmented emulsion SBR (polymerized above 10 °C) seriesCold polymerized/carbon black master batch/14 ph...

A three-dimensional microfluidic biosensor has been successfully designed using a low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology. This microfluidic sensor consists of mixing, focusing and measuring region. The mixing region is a rectangular shaped channel, to enable the complete mixing of sample and buffered saline solution. An electrode pair in the focusing region uses negative dielectrophoretic forces to direct the cells from all directions of the channel towards the center. The measuring region consists of eleven pairs of gold plated electrodes to measure the change in impedance whenever a cell passes through it. The layout of the design is made using AUTOCAD tool and simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics. The results demonstrate the mixing efficiency of two fluids for different velocities.