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Abstract:
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Isora fibre-reinforced natural rubber (NR) composites were cured at 80, 100, 120 and
150°C using a low temperature curing accelerator system. Composites were also prepared using a
conventional accelerator system and cured at 150°C. The swelling behavior of these composites at
varying fibre loadings was studied in toluene and hexane. Results show that the uptake of solvent
and volume fraction of rubber due to swelling was lower for the low temperature cured vulcanizates
which is an indication of the better fibre/rubber adhesion. The uptake of aromatic solvent was higher
than that of aliphatic solvent, for all the composites. As the fibre content increased, the solvent
uptake decreased, due to the superior solvent resistance of the fibre and good fibre-rubber interactions.
The bonding agent improved the swelling resistance of the composites due to the strong interfacial
adhesion. Due to the improved adhesion between the fibre and rubber, the ratio of the change in
volume fraction of rubber due to swelling to the volume fraction of rubber in the dry sample (V,) was
found to decrease in the presence of bonding agent. At a fixed fibre loading, the alkali treated fibre
composite showed a lower percentage swelling than untreated one for both systems showing superior
rubber-fibre interactions. |