Smearing of Vulcanized Rubber

Abstract

Abstract The surface heating which occurs at the interface of rubber sliding under a load may be part of the mechanism of abrasion, especially under severe conditions. Removal of rubber by thermal degradation and a smearing process occurs if the rubber attains sufficiently high localized temperatures. A procedure, using a melting point bar, was developed for measuring the temperature at which smearing occurred for rubber vulcanizates. Smear points reproducible to about ±2° F were measured. The effect of compounding variables on the smear point was investigated. The most important variable in this category was the vulcanization system, probably inasmuch as it determined the type of cross-linking. The presence of free sulfur within the rubber also tended to increase the smear temperature. Highest smear points were obtained with mercaptobenzothiazole-tetramethylthiuram disulfide mixtures, and for a non-sulfur compound using p-quinone-dioxime as the curing agent. The highest smear point observed for natural rubber was 475° F, obtained with this system. GR-S tread compounds showed no smearing even at 560° F, which was as high as could be obtained with the apparatus used. The resistance to smearing of GR-S may be an important factor in explaining its superiority in road wear under severe conditions. Laboratory abrasion experiments were performed to illustrate the effect of smearing on the relative abrasion loss of GR-S and natural-rubber tread compounds.