Mechanical and rheological properties of short nylon fibre NR/SBR composites

Nr/sbr composites were prepared with virgin and waste short nylon fibre using a two-roll mill. the effects of the fibres and bonding agent content on the microstructure,mechanical and rheological properties of the composites were investigated. the curing characteristics of the composites were determined and subsequently vulcanised at 150°c using a hot press. the cure and scorch times of the composites decreased while the maximum torques increased with increasing fibre loading. the adhesion between the fibre and rubber was enhanced by using a dry bonding agent consisting of resorcinol,hexamethylenetetramine and hydrated silica (hrh). the bonding agent provided a shorter curing time and enhanced mechanical properties. the fracture surfaces of samples were examined by scanning electron microscopy (sem). the presence offibres in the matrix influenced the fracture modes leading to pull out and breakage offibres. anisotropic swelling studies were carried out to study the fibre matrix interaction andfibre orientation. the restriction to swelling is higher for composites containing bonding agent and the preferential orientation of the fibres is in the milling direction. for composites prepared with virgin and wastefibres,the dependence of the storage modulus (g'j on angular frequency followed a clear non-terminal behaviour.