On characterizing microscopically the adhesion interphase for the adhesion between metal and rubber compound Part III. Effect of brass-plating amount for brass-plated steel cord

Three kinds of brass-plated steel cords with different brass-plating amounts from 2.62 to 5.01 g/kg were prepared and their adhesion properties to rubber compounds were studied. Adhesion properties decreased with the increase in the brass-plating amount from 2.62 to 3.88 g/kg. Furthermore as the increase of brass-plating amount over 3.88%, adhesion property increased. The strong adhesion of brass-plated steel cord with low brass-plating amount to the rubber was shown not only after curing but also after hostile aging treatments. The good adhesion stability against humidity aging of adhesion property for brass-plated steel cord with low brass-plating amount to rubber compound was discussed in terms of the formation and growth of adhesion interphase determined by AES depth profile. The good adhesion stability of brass-plated cord with low brass-plating amount can be resulted from the suppression of the excessive growth of copper sulfide and the inhibition of dezincification due to the low brass-plating amount.