RHEOLOGICAL MODELS OF RUBBER CARBON-BLACK COMPOUNDS - LOW INTERACTION VISCOELASTIC MODELS AND HIGH INTERACTION THIXOTROPIC PLASTIC VISCOELASTIC MODELS

The rheological behavior of a gum elastomer (natural rubber) and its carbon black compounds is represented in terms of a series of interrelated models. A distinction is made between those compounds with low interaction (large particles or low loadings of small particles) and those with high interaction (large loadings of small particles). The low interaction compounds are treated as viscoelastic materials with filler loading modified properties. The high interaction compounds are represented as 'thixotropic-plastic-viscoelastic' materials. The basic non-linear viscoelastic model used in this paper is that due to Bogue, but other non-linear viscoelastic formulations could be used.