Rubber matrix

Figure 8 shows the SEM images with a low level of strain (50%). It is clear that even with a low-strain level defects are initiated in the sulfur cured system with the formation of large cracks at the boundary layer between the two phases. However, in the peroxide cured system the mechanism of crack initiation is very different. In the latter case the NR-LDPE interface is not the site for crack initiation. In this case, stress due to externally applied strains is distributed throughout the matrix by formation of fine crazes. Furthermore, such crazes are developed in the continuous rubber matrix in a direction... 

The pneumatic tire has the geometry of a thin-wallcd toroidal shell. It consists of as many as fifty different materials, including natural rubber and a variety ot synthetic elastomers, plus carbon black of various types, tire cord, bead wire, and many chemical compounding ingredients, such as sulfur and zinc oxide. These constituent materials are combined in different proportions to form the key components of the composite tire structure. The compliant tread of a passenger car tire, for example, provides road grip the sidewall protects the internal cords from curb abrasion in turn, the cords, prestressed by inflation pressure, reinforce the rubber matrix and carry the majority of applied loads finally, the two circumferential bundles of bead wire anchor the pressnrized torus securely to the rim of the wheel. 

In one of the first reports on fiber reinforcement of rubber, natural rubber (NR) was used by Collier [9] as the rubber matrix, which was reinforced using short cotton fibers. Some of the most commonly used rubber matrices for fiber reinforcement are NR, ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), polychloroprene rubber, and nitrile rubber [10-13]. These rubbers were reinforced using short and long fibers including jute, silk, and rayon [14—16]. 

Proper reinforcement of rubber matrix using hllers can be achieved only if there exists adequate adhesion between the hller and the mbber. Rubber-mbber adhesion and rubber-hller adhesion both without and with adhesion promoters have been studied extensively [125-127]. Fiber-matrix adhesion in short fiber-rubber composites is always a field of extensive research. If the fibers are not bonded properly with the rubber matrix, fibers will shde past each other under tension deforming the matrix, thereby reducing the strength properties. In the case of short fiber-reinforced rubber composites, loads are not directly applied to the fibers, but are apphed to the matrix. To obtain a high-performance composite, the load must be effectively transferred to the fibers, which is possible only when the fiber-matrix interphase is sufficiently strong. In addition, the adhesion between the fiber and the matrix should be such that the failure occurs in the matrix rather than at the interphase [92]. 

Naturally occurring fibers such as cotton, cellulose, etc., have short whiskers protruding from the surface, which help to give a physical bond when mixed with rubber. Glass, nylon, polyester, and rayon have smooth surfaces and adhesion of these fibers to the rubber matrix is comparatively poor. In addition, these synthetic fibers have chemically unreactive surfaces, which must be treated to enable a bond to form with the mbber. In general, the fibers are dipped in adhesives in the latex form and this technology is the most common one used for continuous fibers. The adhesion between elastomers and fibers was discussed by Kubo [128]. Hisaki et al. [129] and Kubo [130] proposed a... 

Short fiber incorporated rubber compounds can be processed in a way similar to that of conventional mbber compounds. Proper dispersion of the fiber in the rubber matrix is the primary objective. 

No aggregation of CNTs in the rubber matrix could be observed, indicating good dispersion of the nanotubes. 

---