This research is seen as another milestone for Linglong Tire after the first low rolling resistance concept tyre was made and published in an international authoritative academic journal in 2015.
Linglong’s Investment in Graphene Research Pay Off
The research on ‘large-scale application of graphene rubber composites’, which is conducted jointly by Beijing Tiancheng Linglong Tire Co, Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Linglong Tire, and Beijing University of Chemical Technology, has passed the audit and acceptance held by the Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission (BMSTC) on 28thJanuary , 2019.
Besides China’s leading experts from Tsinghua University, those from the Peking University, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNT), Beijing Normal University, Beijing Research Institute of Sinopec (BRIS), among others, also participated in the audit.
This research is seen as another milestone for Linglong Tire after the first low rolling resistance concept tyre was made and published in an international authoritative academic journal in 2015. Guo Baochun, a professor from South China University of Technology, provided the key technical support with his team and the trial production of graphene-enhanced tyre was completed in the semi-steel radial tyre production line of Zhaoyuan, Linglong Tire’s production base.
The achievements of this research are as follows: the team jointly developed the graphene pretreatment technology, which lowered the production cost for graphene pretreatment. After the pretreatment body was applied in the tread formula, the graphene-enhanced tyre could be produced without changing the existing tyre production process and equipment in addition to some appropriate process adjustment, so as to ensure the feasibility of the industrial production process within controllable cost; the trial-produced tyres achieved breakthroughs in key performance such as fuel efficiency, safety and anti-static, and successfully demonstrated the application value of graphene in energy-saving tyres.
More specifically, the fuel-efficient grade of Linglong‘s graphene tyre is close to grade A of the EU Tire Labeling Regulation; also, its wet grip performance is estimated to achieve level A of EU Labeling, and its comprehensive performance has reached the international advanced level. In addition, the abrasion resistance and thermal conductivity of the tyres have varying degrees of improvement compared with the high-performance green tyres in the market.
As a material, graphene has the advantage of ultra-high conductivity and thermal conductivity. A small amount of graphene in polymer composites could significantly improve the ultra-high and thermal conductivity of the materials. Also, the characteristics of ultra-high strength and super-large specific surface area of graphene enable it to effectively improve the abrasion resistance of rubber composites. Through micro interface technology originally developed by the research team, the fuel consumption of a grapheme tyre could be effectively reduced. The introduction of graphene into tyre production would have a profound impact on the development of Chinese tyre technology and graphene industry.
玲珑石墨烯轮胎再获里程碑进展！
2019年1月28日由北京市科委主持，来自清华大学、北京大学、国家纳米中心（NCNT）、北京师范大学、中石化北京研究院（BRIS）等单位的专家共同对“石墨烯/橡胶复合材料规模化制备及应用关键技术研究”课题进行验收，经课题组汇报和专家组审核验收资料后，课题顺利通过验收。
课题成果的顺利验收，是玲珑轮胎继2015年制备出、在国际权威学术期刊发表的首条低滚阻概念轮胎之后，又一里程碑进展。 本课题由山东玲珑轮胎股份有限公司全资子公司北京天诚玲珑轮胎有限公司与北京化工大学共同承担。华南理工大学郭宝春教授团队给予关键技术支持，最终在山东玲珑轮胎股份有限公司招远半钢子午线轮胎生产线完成轮胎试制。
石墨烯/橡胶复合材料规模化制备及应用关键技术研究的重要成果为：利用合作团队共同开发的石墨烯预处理技术，将低成本化获得的石墨烯预处理体应用在轮胎胎面配方中，在不改变现有轮胎生产工艺流程和设备的基础上进行适当的工艺调整即可生产，从而保证工业化的生产工艺可行和成本可控；经第三方测试验证表明，试制的轮胎实现节油、安全和抗静电等关键性能的同时突破，成功体现出石墨烯在绿色节能轮胎的应用价值。
轮胎节油等级接近欧盟标签法燃油效率A级，湿地安全性经预测也实现了欧盟标签法的湿滑路面刹车安全性A级水平，综合性能已到达国际先进水平。此外，轮胎的耐磨性能和导热性能相对于市面上高性能绿色轮胎方案均有不同幅度的提升。
石墨烯具有超高导电、超高导热的性能优势，在聚合物复合材料中少量添加即可显著提高材料导电、导热性能；石墨烯超高强度、超大比表面积的特点，使得其对橡胶材料具有高效增强的潜力，可以有效提高橡胶复合材料的耐磨耗能力。通过研究团队独创知识产权的微观界面结合技术，更能够有效的降低轮胎油耗。将石墨烯导入轮胎生产将会对中国轮胎技术发展以及石墨烯产业产生深刻影响。
