Mechanical Properties of Raw and Vulcanized Rubbers during Periodic Deformation
Abstract The construction of an apparatus for measuring the modulus of elasticity and the mechanical losses in raw and vulcanized rubbers during the periodical deformation of compression is described. With the aid of this device it is possible to measure these characteristics at frequencies from 10 to 50 cycles per second for relative compression deformations from 1 to 50 per cent and in a wide range of temperatures. The relation between temperature and modulus of elasticity and mechanical losses was studied at 30 cycles per second for various grades of raw and vulcanized rubbers and a general regularity of this dependence was determined. In the solution of technical problems such as the construction of automobile tire treads, the behavior of rubber under conditions of rapidly changing periodic deformation is highly important. Here the two characteristics of rubber: the dynamic modulus of elasticity and the magnitude of that part of work of deformation which is irreversibly spent during one cycle (mechanical losses) are of the greatest interest. In previous studies of these properties, three basic methods have been used: