Rubber Compounding

Abstract

Abstract Rubber compounding is the complex, multidisciplinary science of selecting and blending the appropriate combination of elastomers and other ingredients to meet the performance, manufacturing, environmental, and cost requirements of rubber goods made and used in commerce. There is a wide variety of elastomers and ingredients that are available in making rubber goods, which include all of the following types of products: tires, innertubes, retreaded tires, footwear, conveyor belts, rubber rolls, hoses, belts, weatherstripping, O‐rings, seals, diaphragms, tubing, rubber and latex gloves, ball bladders, medical devices, bumpers, and numerous other products. This is a review of the basic materials used in designing many common types of rubber products. The development of the combination of materials contained in a usable rubber compound involves many disciplines that include chemistry, physics, mathematics, and polymer science. In many cases, classical scientific methods can predict the interaction effects and estimate the properties expected from rubber compounds. However, discovery and development of new materials that modify the rubber compound to produce new, useful, and beneficial properties are appearing regularly. Also, environmental concerns are creating an interest in utilizing recycled rubber products into new rubber compounds, creating uses for postindustrial and ‐consumer materials.