An Improved Test Method of Abrasion of Rubber in a Blade Abrader

An improved laboratory test method for the abrasion of rubber is suggested based on a modified version of the previous blade abraders. In the modified apparatus, a constant normal load, N, is applied to the knife blade, which is mounted and fixed over a frictionless linear slider by means of a pulley and string system such that the knife blade can press the flat surface of a rotating rubber disk, and the frictional torque, M, is monitored and measured during each measurement. A precise potentiometer is used to measure the displacement, d, of the knife axis, and the measured values are carefully examined to assess whether they can be used as an alternative way of determining the rate of wear of rubber. The rates of wear from the newly designed abrader were found to be in good agreement with those of the previous results when they were compared in terms of frictional work input, W_f, for some selected rubber compounds: unfilled polybutadiene (UBR), unfilled natural rubber (UNR), and filled polybutadiene (FBR). It was also found that the direct measurement of the displacement of knife axis can be used as an alternative test method of the abrasion of rubber, instead of the conventional way of measuring the weight loss.