Time-Dependent Tearing of Carbon Black-Filled and Strain Crystallizing Vulcanizates

Abstract

Abstract 1. Unstable tearing can be minimized and tear-tip diameter held reasonably constant for carbon black-filled and strain-crystallizing vulcanizates using a constrained trouser tear testpiece first suggested by Gent and Henry. In the absence of these complicating features, the tear energy has been shown to be thermo-rheologically simple, readily lending itself to time-temperature superposition over a broad range of temperatures and rates. 2. Shift factors used to superpose tear energy data at different temperatures for both filled and unfilled SBR also superposed small deformation stress-relaxation data. This result did not hold for the NR formulations tested, indicating that the temperature dependency of the principal viscoelastic process is different for these properties. Evidence of this was observed in the thermal expansion coefficient, a, derived from the WLF coefficients, which increased by a factor of 10 for tear energy data. It is concluded that even with the tear path constrained, strain-induced crystallization still occurs near the tear tip for the NR formulations. 3. Temperature-reduced tear energy master curves for both filled and unfilled vulcanizates showed the same general tear behavior when referenced to Tg. At high rates or low temperatures, the master curves coincide, approaching a characteristic tear energy of approximately 50 kJ/m2, regardless of formulation. Only at lower rates did the different nature of the rubbers become apparent. All the master curves showed evidence of a tear energy plateau between −15 and −10 decades in rate, with the NR compounds showing the lowest slopes in this region. 4. Addition of filler increases the tear energy by approximately 20–40% over most of the master curves. This supports a previous conclusion of Gent and Henry that the major effect of reinforcing filler is to dissipate energy over a larger volume of material without significantly increasing inherent strength. Addition of filler also tended to mask the plateau in the tear energy master curve and decrease both the free volume at Tg and the thermal expansion coefficient of the material.