Investigation of mechanical and physical properties of several industrial rubbers

Recently, blending of polymers has become an increasingly important area of research activity. Elastomer blends are used for many reasons such as lowering the compound cost, for ease of fabrication and to improve the performance of the industrial rubber. Natural rubber (NR) and styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR) have been blended for a long time for these reasons. In this study, 12 different rubber compounds were prepared by using SMR-20 type of natural rubber and SBR-1502 type of styrene–butadiene rubber in different proportions, keeping fixed the total rubber quantity specified in the standard testing recipe. The mechanical and physical properties – such as tensile strength, hardness, wear, carbon black, ozone resistance, density and rheological properties of the present industrial rubber – were studied. Physical and mechanical test results were reported. The tensile, hardness and wear properties of the NR/SBR blends with the increment of NR percentages were greatly enhanced. The study also indicated that filler materials affect on the physical and mechanical properties of the blends.