Quantification of the filler flocculation process in natural rubber melts

Abstract

This paper investigates the phenomenon of structural relaxation in filled rubbers. The structural relaxation phenomenon in rubber melts is usually explained either by the mechanism of polymer macromolecules bridging the filler particles or by filler flocculation also known as filler networking initiated by physical interactions between particles. The second is the main focus of this paper. An elementary methodology for the quantification of the movement of flocculating filler particles in rubber melts based on the Einstein’s theory is introduced here. Samples of a natural rubber filled with various carbon black grades have been prepared for this study and the influence of carbon black primary particle size and structure on the behaviour of carbon black in natural rubber melts have been investigated and quantified. © 2015 Taylor and Francis Group.