Physical Testing of Latex Films

Determinations of the tensile strength of latex rubber involve difficulties which concern either the preparation of the sheets or the technic used in breaking them. Thick sheets of latex rubber may be cut into dumb-bell or ring test-pieces, which may then be broken on a tensile-testing machine of normal type. The preparation of thick sheets is, however, a matter of difficulty, owing to the fact that the complete drying-off of the water takes such a long time. Thus when ultra-accelerators are under test, vulcanization of the sheets may be advanced, or even complete, before the sheets are dry, so that investigation of the early stages of cure is impossible. Further, during the time that elapses before evaporation has gelled the whole thickness of latex, sedimentation of the compounding ingredients may occur in the mass of the fluid sheet, resulting in vulcanizates which are not uniform in composition or degree of cure. The use of devices such as porous tiles or the expedient of flowing the latex onto the surface of a gelatin jelly is objectionable because they absorb water-soluble components as well as water from the latex mix. Further, although they tend to prevent sedimentation by promoting more rapid gelling, the complete elimination of the water from a thick sheet is still a lengthy process, during which complete self-vulcanization may easily occur. The use of chemical coagulants is open to the same objection, which is of course overshadowed by the much more serious obstacle of their effect on the activity of accelerators and on the physical properties of the latex rubber.