The Pendulum as a Source of Energy for Plasticity Measurements
Abstract ADVANCEMENT in methods for studying the consistency of rubber during the last 10 years has been confined largely to various modifications of previous tests and to better interpretation of the data obtained. The extrusion plastometer introduced by Marzetti (11) has been modified by Behre (1) to provide a battery of instruments, by Dillon and Johnston (5) to provide more simple apparatus capable of operating at increased rates of shear, and by Dillon (4) to provide an instrument for rapid control work. The parallel-plate plastometer (16) has received numerous modifications of form. DeVries (2) modified the plates to provide a constant area of contact with the rubber. This modification was used by van Rossem and van der Meyden (14) who stressed the necessity of following the elastic recovery as well as the rate of compression. Karrer (8) pointed out the need for controlling the time factor during compression and recovery and has described an instrument (9) with which each measurement requires about 30 seconds. The balance plastometer, which employs parallel plates, was described by Hoekstra (7) and is well adapted to following the elastic recovery after the rubber has been compressed under any conditions of thickness and time. A parallel-plate instrument with interchangeable parts to provide various methods of applying pressure and following recovery was described by Lefeaditis (10). The relation between compression and the extent of recovery has been considered by Dillon (3), who concluded that the measurement of either the compression or the elastic recovery as obtained with the usual parallel-plate plastometer was sufficient if the comparison was confined to a number of batches of a given stock or type of rubber. He also pointed out that elastic recovery depends on the speed of the previous deformation. Hoekstra (6), after considering some of the factors involved in plastic flow, concluded that elastic recovery should be measured only after compression of a rubber to the fixed thickness. The general usefulness of the parallel-plate plastometer has been greatly increased by the mathematical treatment of Peek (13) and Scott (15). A third type of plastometer, consisting of a disk which rotates in compressed rubber while the resistance to shear is measured, has been described by Mooney (12).