The Effect of Solvents on the Stress-Strain Curve of Vulcanized Rubber
Abstract (1) The results indicate that the rigidity of a piece of vulcanized rubber is considerably reduced by the absorption of small amounts of a solvent; thus, at a strain of 6 ( = 600 per cent elongation) the absorption of 5 per cent by weight ( = 8 per cent by volume) of benzene lowers the rigidity by 21 per cent. (2) The greatest effect is produced by the first 20 or 30 per cent (by weight) of absorbed benzene, further absorption having a less marked effect on the stress-strain curve. (3) The absorption of solvent seems to have very little effect on the breaking elongation, although the tensile strength is considerably lowered. This conclusion, however, is probably no longer true in the case of rubber swollen by immersion in liquid, where the absorption is very much greater than in the present tests. (4) Absorption of solvent followed by complete drying appears to produce a slight, but technically negligible, permanent effect on the stress-strain curve. It is evident from these results that when it is necessary to use solvents, either in the process of manufacture or the after-treatment of rubber products, these should be selected as free as possible from high-boiling constituents liable to be permanently retained by the rubber with consequent detriment to its strength. A conclusion of some theoretical interest is that since all the stresses in the present investigation were calculated on the dimensions of the original dry rubber, the low rigidity of swollen rubber cannot be ascribed simply to the “dilution” of the rubber by the absorbed liquid, but must be due to a loosening of the cohesive forces between the ultimate particles of the material.