Cure Characteristics, Swelling Behaviors, and Mechanical Properties of Carbon Black Filler Reinforced EPDM/NBR Blend System

The effect of carbon black fillers viz. semi-reinforcing furnace (SRF), high abrasion furnace (HAF) and intermediate super abrasion furnace (ISAF) carbon blacks on the cure, swelling and mechanical properties of 70/30 EPDM/NBR blend have been investigated. The maximum torque values have been found to be increased with increase in filler loading. Filledsystems have been found to exhibit a reduced solvent uptake tendency compared to the unfilled sample. Blends loaded with ISAF exhibited the lowest toluene uptake among the carbon black filled systems due to the better filler reinforcement. A more uniform morphology has been observed for ISAF-filled samples compared to the other filler loaded systems. The improvement in the mechanical properties has been observed to be the highest for ISAF-filled samples followed by HAF and SRF filled systems. This has been attributed to the smaller particle size of ISAF black. The experimental results of mechanical testing have been compared with various theoretical models. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 120: 2654-2662, 2011