Abstract
The standard form of test-piece used on the type of abrasion testing machine of the Akron Standard Mold Company is a disc of about 63.5 mm. diameter and 12.5 mm. thick. This can be made either (1) by vulcanizing in a mold of appropriate shape, which is filled with a blank cut from a sheet of stock about 13 mm. thick, or (2) by cutting out from a mold-vulcanized slab 12.5 mm. thick. In either case the abrasive wear takes place on a surface corresponding to the edge of a disc cut from the sheet of stock. The same is true if tests are made on discs cut from rubber articles such as soles, flooring, or other material in sheet form. In the actual use of such articles as tires, soles and heels flooring, conveyor belting, and tough rubber cable sheaths, the abrasive wear occurs on a surface representing substantially the flat surface of the sheet of stock. If the stock contains fillers that produce a calender grain effect, e.g., magnesium carbonate and clay, it cannot be assumed that the wear on the flat surface of the sheet is the same as that on the edge of a disc cut from it, which lies in a plane perpendicular to the former surface. If there is a difference between the rates of wear on these two surfaces, the type of test-piece described above must give an incorrect indication of the abrasion resistance of the rubber in actual use.