Tire tread compounds with reduced rolling resistance and improved wet grip

The aim of this work is to investigate the replacement of carbon black by silica‐organosilane coupling agent system and the number of processing steps on the mechanical properties, rolling resistance, and wet grip of truck tire treads. Eight compounds were prepared: two formulations based on carbon black, five formulations with the partial replacement of carbon black by a silica‐organosilane coupling agent system, and one formulation with the total replacement of carbon black with silica. The rolling resistance decreased by 10% and the wet grip increased by 18.5% for the compound with 15 phr of silica, 3 phr of organosilane, and three processing steps compared to the standard compound. The processing steps also promoted an improvement in these properties for the composition with 50 phr of carbon black. The partial use of silica reduced the abrasion loss, thus confirming the durability of the compound.