Adhesion to Fibres and Fabrics

Many rubber products are reinforced with metallic or synthetic fibres to increase the strength of the product. Effective adhesion of the rubber to the reinforcing material is critical for good service life and safe performance. If the adhesive bond fails, a weak point will result, causing premature failure. In belts, fabric reinforcement is used to support the wear area for improved abrasion resistance. Again, good adhesion is necessary for the fabric to function effectively in this capacity. 

Saret 633 and Saret 634 were found to increase the adhesion of rubber to most polar surfaces, including synthetic fibres and fabrics [26]. Examples of this are shown in the next section. 

Saret 633 was evaluated in a T-pull adhesion test using the EPDM formulation described in the materials section (see Section 8.3.1.1). The T-pull test measures the adhesion between rubber and a fibre. The fibre is placed in a mould and rubber is then added and cured. The fibre is then pulled in a perpendicular direction from the rubber and the force to break the adhesive bond is measured. The T-pull test is accomplished by using a special mould with a grid of trenches into which can he laid ruhher and perpendicular to the rubber a filament. By filling the trench half way with the ruhher the filament is embedded. After curing, the filament and rubber resemble a cross. The tensile tester is used to strip the rubber from the filament. 

In each case, the Saret 633 significantly improves the T-pull adhesion over the control, especially the metallic monofilaments, copper, aluminium and steel. The adhesive failure 

Copper Aluminium Steel wire wire wire 

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