Determination of the Volume Fraction of the Rigid Rubber Layer Near the Surface of an Active Filler Using Reinforcement Theory

Abstract

This article presents a computational and experimental assessment of the volume fraction of the hard rubber layer near the surface of carbon black particles. The study involved rubbers based on SKI-3 and SKMS-30ARKM 15 rubbers with filler N330. Physical and mechanical tests of raw mixtures and vulcanizates were conducted. Based on an experiment using reinforcement theory, the volume fractions of hard rubber near the filler particle surface were calculated for different degrees of carbon black filling. Constitutive equations in the form of elastic potentials describing the properties of filled rubbers are constructed. These equations can be used in calculating stresses and strains in rubber products using the finite element method.