Dates of experiments - 12/10/2022
Experiment number - 01
Effect Of Mastication on Properties Of Natural
Rubber
Name : - MEESARA N.D.S
Index Number : - EGT20508
Abstract
In this experiment we have learned how to recognize rubber and chemicals and about machines. We have
done mastication process, tensile strength testing and Mooney Viscosity test.
Introduction
Raw natural rubber is extremely tough and has Visco - Elastic characteristics. Softening the
rubber during the manufacturing process allows for more efficient and effective mixing/compounding and
shaping operations. To do this, raw NR is exposed to a mechanical breakdown process known as "Cold
mastication." Long chain NR molecules are broken down into smaller fragments in this procedure by
mechanical shear force generated by the mixing machines. The oxygen stabilizes the broken NR molecule
chains, resulting in progressive plasticization.
For NR mastication and mixing, the industry employs Two Roll open mills or internal
mixers. Internal mixers are commonly known to be more efficient than open mill mixers.
During mastication, many modifications occur in raw NR, which must be examined in this practical.
Mastication efficiency is determined by several elements, including machine type, shear force rate, time to
mastication, mastication temperature, and NR form. Mastication gradually reduces the viscosity of rubber
and increases the plasticity of NR. Mastication also changes the rubber into a state with strong green tack and
low green strength.
As a result, it became vital to ensure that the break down to requisite viscosity or plasticity was sufficient for
efficient mixing and subsequent shaping processes. These practical aims to derive a link between NR
characteristics and mastication time. In this experiment, you will determine the Mooney Viscosity values of
natural and synthetic rubbers. You will also masticate natural rubber using a two-roll mill to measure the
effect of mastication on viscosity, tensile strength, elongation at break, hardness, and tackiness.
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Experiment
Raw Rubber Materials
There are two types of raw materials which are natural and synthetic rubber.
• Natural Rubber
Natural rubber is typically sourced from Hevea brasiliensis or the Pará rubber tree. This native
Brazilian plant is now cultivated in South and Southeast Asian countries. Natural Rubber is main
source for rubber products. Latex is obtained from the plant, and that is what is used to make rubber.
Figure 1 – Rubber Latex Figure 2- Rss Sheets
RSS (Ribbed Smoke Sheet)
Ribbed smoked sheet rubber is created from natural rubber latex that has been treated and made to coagulate.
The latex is formed into sheets using a simple machine, which are then either air dried or smoked in ovens..
Figure 3 - RSS Sheet
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• Crepe Rubber
Crepe rubber is coagulated latex that is rolled out in crinkled sheets and is widely used to produce shoe and
boot bottoms, but it is also used as a raw material for further processed rubber products. It’s White color
Figure 4 - Crepe Rubber
• Off Grade Rubber
Figure 5 – Off grade Rubber
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• Synthetic Rubber
Synthetic rubber can be created artificially by polymerizing monomers into polymers.
Tires, clutches, engine bearings, conveyor belts, industrial items, and drinking water seals are all
made from synthetic rubber.
• Polymer molecules are joined to create synthetic rubber. These are primarily synthetic
polymers made from petroleum byproducts.
EX: SBR, BR, CR, NBR, Neoprene Rubber, Polyurethane Rubber.
Figure 6 - Synthetic Rubber Cube
❖ SBR (Styrene Butadiene Rubber)
When these materials are protected by additives, they offer good abrasion
resistance and aging stability. The styrene/butadiene ratio effects the polymer's
properties: rubbers with a high styrene content are harder and less rubbery.
Figure 8 - SBR (New one) Figure 7 - SBR (Old One)
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• Rubber Chemicals
Rubber chemicals are used to strengthen the resilience of chemical products to heat, sunshine,
oxidation, ozone, and mechanical stress. It is utilized in a variety of products, including tires, wire
and cable, waterproof raincoats, waterproofing materials, shoes, bags, and plastic products.
List of Rubber Chemicals
❖ Colour Pigments.
Colour pigments are used for Colour the rubber compounds. There are so many colour
compounds.
o Red
o Orange
o Green
o Yellow
o Titanium Dioxide (Whitening)
Figure 9 – Color Pigments
Figure 10 - Ground Figure 11 – Orange
Calcium Carbonate Color Pigment
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❖ Fillers
o Rain Forcing Fillers
Figure 13 – Carbon Black
Figure 12 - Silica
Figure 14– HSR 68
o Non-Reinforcing Fillers
▪ Calcium Carbonate
Figure 16 – China Clay
Figure 15 – Calcium Carbonate
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❖ Accelerators
Increase the speed of Vulcanization and enables Vulcanization to proceed at lower
temperature.
Figure 17 – MBTS
Figure 18 - TMTD
Figure 19 - PEG
Figure 20 – ETU (Ethylene Thiourea)
Figure 21 - Polychloroprene
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❖ Activators
Figure 22 – Zinc Oxide Figure 23 – Stearic Acid
❖ Antioxident / Antiozone
▪ IPPD
Figure 24 - IPPD
Figure 25 - TMQ
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Figure 26 – Low inox CPL
❖ Processing Aids
Figure 28 – Naphthenic Oil
Figure 27 – Paraffinic Oil
❖ Isterine Resin (Plastic Property increase)
❖ Vulcanization
Figure 30 – Magnesium Oxide
Figure 29 - Sulfur
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Figure 31 - Polychloroprene
❖ Flame Resistance
Figure 32 – Aluminum Trihydrate
Figure 33 - Dispergum
Equipment & Instruments
• Shore Testing (Measuring hardness of a material)
Shore A – Normal Material
Shore C – Soft Material
Shore D – Hard Material
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Machine Details
A thickness gauge is a device that measures
the thickness of a material fast and
conveniently. A thickness gauge can be used
in a variety of industries, but it is most
typically used in engineering and
manufacturing to check that material
thickness meets industry standards and
regulations.
Shoring Machine is used to measure the
hardness. Shore A Tester was used for Rubber
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IRHD Machine is use for hardness testing.
Shore and IRHD (International Rubber
Hardness Degree) hardness testers are used to
detect the indentation depth of a wide range
of materials, including foams, rubber, and
stiff plastics.
Moving Die Rheometers are the industry
standard for characterizing rubber curing in
quality control and research and development.
As a result, these rotorless curemeters have a
closed, sealed, biconical die system that
complies with all essential ISO, ASTM, and
DIN requirements.
In the presence of a difficulty, conducting
resilience tests helps to minimize failure and
security risks. Power outages, system crashes,
downtime, and natural disasters are examples
of difficulties that resilience testing can assist
fight against.
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Two Roll Mixing Mills are commonly used
for mixing and kneading chemicals into raw
rubber, synthetic rubber, thermoplastics, or
EVA. Polymers such as LDPE, HDPE, PP,
PVC, PS, ABS, HIPS, Natural Rubber, EVA,
and others.
A weighing scale is a device used to measure
a person's weight and is one of the most
commonly used devices by doctors. There are
two types of weighing scales: mechanical
weighing scales and digital weighing scales.
In a variety of test procedures, universal
testing machines are used to determine the
physical and mechanical qualities of raw
materials and components by measuring and
analyzing their performance under various
tensile or compressive stresses.
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Mooney viscometers are the foundation for
assessing the viscous flow of raw materials
like polymers and intermediates like
masterbatches in order to ensure stable and
consistent manufacturing processes. In
addition, all MonTech Mooney Viscometers
provide Scorch and Stress Relaxation testing.
DIN Abrasion Tester - The DIN Abrader is a
rotary drum abrasion tester that is used to
evaluate the abrasion resistance of rubber
products on specified grade abrasive paper
under specific pressure.
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Procedure
Mastication Process
Figure 44 – Two Roll Mill
1. Firstly, 200.5g of RSS rubber were weighed using a digital scale. Before placing materials into the
scale, it was cleaned and tare.
2. Secondly, the mill machine's rollers and surroundings were properly checked and cleaned.
3. The nip was made sure that free of objectives and other kind of obstruction.
4. The mill rolls and mill tray should be clean and free of dirt and other impurities.
5. The mill's lubricant and water circulation are working properly was checked.
6. The mill's nip was appropriately adjusted to zero adjustment and alignment was checked.
7. The safety devices were checked in good working order.
8. Then RSS 200 g was cut into smaller pieces.
9. Nip gap was adjusted to 1.0 mm
10. Two Vernier Callipers were checked they are identical.
11. The zero adjustment was done.
12. Oil Grease was Checked.
13. The water tap was closed and used cleaning rubber to warm up the mill rolls to around 60 degrees
Celsius.
14. Raw RSS tackiness was checked.
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15. Then Rubber was fed into machine on above the machine.
16. RSS was masticated for 3 minutes.
17. Then masticated rubber 20 g was cut and labelled it for Mooney Viscosity Test.
18. Another 5 g small piece was cut and labelled it for tensile strength using Digital Scale.
19. Then Rubber was masticated for 7 minutes.
20. Then again masticated rubber 20 g was cut for Mooney Viscosity Test using Digital Scale and
labelled it.
21. Another Small piece was cut for tensile strength using Digital Scale.
22. Then Rubber was masticated for another 10 minutes.
23. Then again masticated rubber 20 g was cut and labelled it for Mooney Viscosity Test.
24. After another 5g Small piece was cut for tensile strength using Digital Scale and labelled it.
25. Finally, machine was stopped, and nip gap was adjusted in to 1.0 mm as same as beginning.
Tensile Strength Test
Figure 45 – Tensile Tester
1. Firstly, using a cutter, the samples of rubber was cut into dumbbell shapes, and those were then
properly labeled.
2. Secondly, each sample's thickness was measured using a thickness gauge meter before the tensile
strength was measured.
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3. Thirdly, each sample was given three measurements, with the average of those readings being used.
4. After that, the universal testing machine was set up to test tensile strength and checked properly.
5. Then average thickness of the 1st sample was added into the software.
6. Next Process of the machine was started.
7. The graph of stress and strain were displayed on the software.
8. Finally, the extenso and the test sample were taken out.
9. Same procedure was followed for 10- and 20-minute samples.
Mooney Viscosity Test
Figure 46 – Mooney Viscosity Tester
1. First, a squire shape cut sample was obtained from the Masticated RSS Sheet
2. The hole was made in the middle of a three-minute sample and a thin film.
3. This sample was attached to the appropriate rotor.
4. Suitable rotor was selected. That sample connected to the suitable rotor properly.
5. That rotor was linked to the machine, and other sample pieces were placed on the rotor's upper side.
The sample was then covered with a thin film sheet.
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6. Then the machine was started after all setting put.
i. Pre-heat time – 1 minutes
ii. Running time – 4 minutes
iii. Relaxing time – 1 minutes
iv. Temperature – 100 ℃
7. The sample was taken out from the machine.
8. Finally, the machine was cleaned properly.
9. Other Samples were tested according to same procedure.
10. Finally, the results were obtained from software (Graphs and tables).
IRHD Hardness Test
Figure 47 – IRHD Hardness Tester
1. Firstly, Samples were obtained and measured thickness from 3 points using the thickness gauge.
2. Secondly, the average thickness was calculated.
3. Then the protective cap was removed.
4. The average thickness was entered into the software.
5. The sample was placed on the stage.
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6. The test was started.
7. This method was applied to the remaining samples.
Shore Hardness Test
Figure 48 – Shore A Tester
1. Firstly, the sample was placed on the table.
2. Shore A hardness tester was selected for test.
3. Then machine was placed on the sample and push until display right mark and hear beep sound.
4. The Experimental Results were taken.
5. Finally, the same procedure was done for other samples.
Summary
In this Experiment Firstly, Raw Rubber materials, Rubber chemicals, equipment and instruments were
identified and learned about it. Secondly, RSS Rubber 200.5 g was masticated. Then Samples were taken
from the masticated rubber within 3,10,20 minutes. Then hardness test was done using IRHD machine but
There was a sample error. Therefore, Shore hardness test was done using that samples. Mooney Viscosity
Test was done using RSS and SBR samples. Then The graphs and results were taken from the software. Then
Tensile test was done using masticated samples. Two samples were completed; however, the final masticated
sample was failed. Finally, tensile test graphs and results were taken.
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Results & Discussion
Tensile Test
Figure 10 – 3 minutes mastication
Figure 11 – 10 minutes mastication
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Figure 12 – 20 minutes mastication
Table 1 – Tensile test Results
Sample Peak Stress(N/mm2) Elongation break (mm)
3 min 0.361 114.980
10 min 0.144 58.430
20 min 0.086 18.890
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Figure 13 – NR/ Carbon Black
Figure 14 – Mooney Viscosity Test (NBR)
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Figure 15 – Mooney Viscosity Test (RSS)
Figure 16 – Mooney Viscosity Test (SBR)
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Table 2- IRHD test Results
Sample Avg.Thickness (mm) Hardness
3 min 2.36 99.6
10 min 4.49 Test failed (max limit exceeded)
20 min 5.83 Test failed (max limit exceeded)
➢ Due to the testing machine's restrictions, the test was unable to identify the correct hardness level.
Table 3 – Shore Hardness Test Results
Sample Avg.Hardness (ShA)
3 min 11.4
10 min 4.9
20 min Test Failed
Discussion
➢ According to the table 01 Peak stress was decreased with mastication. The highest tensile is in 3
minutes sample. 10 minutes sample tensile strength is higher than 20 minutes sample. According to
that Tensile strength was decreased over time.
➢ According to the table 03 Thickness was reduced when mastication time was decreased. The 20
minutes sample has lower thickness. The highest thickness is in 3 minutes sample.
➢ Viscosity value of RSS is higher than the SBR. When mastication time increase viscosity is
decreased.
➢ Hardness value is decrease when the rubber is masticating. The 20-minute sample was failed because
it was over masticated. It couldn’t be measure in the tester. Hardness of RSS was decreased with the
time was masticated.
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Conclusion
Rubber chemicals, Equipments and instruments were identified. The Rubber Sample was over masticated.
The RSS's hardness, elasticity, and viscosity decreased during masticating rubber. Tensile test, IRHD test ,
Shore hardness and Mooney viscosity test were done. Graphs and results were mentioned above. Well-
masticated RSS have mechanical properties that are similar to those of well-masticated cellulose while being
adaptable to shaping and mixing applications.
References
• Styrene-butadiene - Wikipedia
• https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.shutterstock.com%2Fimage-
photo%2Forange-red-cube-synthetic-rubber-260nw-
1707029794.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.shutterstock.com%2Fsearch%2Fsynthetic-
rubber&tbnid=TP35_0Cu65ofNM&vet=12ahUKEwjE1v2i1-
r6AhWRjtgFHTbtD0YQMygbegUIARCdAg..i&docid=-
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content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F08%2Fcoagulated-lump-of-raw-natural-
rubber.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fibet.co.uk%2Fwhere-does-natural-rubber-come-
from%2F&tbnid=UXbeITxmGq6onM&vet=12ahUKEwiclYGx1-
r6AhW8jtgFHTrwDQ4QMyhdegUIARCbAQ..i&docid=yGwMjXZ3OjyJqM&w=900&h=600&q=na
tural%20rubberrubber&hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwiclYGx1-
r6AhW8jtgFHTrwDQ4QMyhdegUIARCbAQ
• https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ah
UKEwir97HZ1-
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atural_rubber&usg=AOvVaw1Z5qLT8U30zko2_g7NZBPH
• Din abrader machine uses - Google Search
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