Effect of blending thermoplastic elastomer with natural rubber compound and studies of short fiber reinforced rubber composite

Rubber engineers face difficulties in scorching and vulcanizing during rubber processing, particularly of natural rubber (NR). Therefore, this work tried to solve these problems by blending thermoplastic rubber with NR compound. The results indicated that the scorch resistance of the NR was improved by blending the thermoplastic elastomer styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene (SEBS). However, its mechanical properties were not found to be improved. Therefore, this study was extended to understand the reinforcement effects of short fiber carbon and glass fibers, on the mechanical properties of the thermoplastic elastomer with NR compounds. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.