Tensile Tests of Plantation Rubber
Abstract The investigation which has just been described can be summarized as follows: (1) A technique for the commercial testing of plantation rubber has been developed which is simple and precise, and by means of which it is possible to reproduce control tests, a feature which is indispensable if rubber is to be sold on a basis of quality rather than superficial appearance. (2) The tentative specifications for testing rubber drawn up by the Crude Rubber Committee of the Division of Rubber Chemistry of the American Chemical Society have been found acceptable as a basis for this testing procedure. (3) It has been found necessary, however, to revise the specifications of the Crude Rubber Committee in some ways and to amplify them, so that they fulfill the three conditions described above and also conform to the particular working conditions of laboratories in the tropics. The revisions to the Crude Rubber Committee specifications include: (1) The use of an autoclave for vulcanizing in open steam. (2) A mill roll temperature of 65° C instead of 70° C. (3) A definite, fixed weight of batch, containing 200 grams of rubber, plus accessory ingredients. (4) A temperature of 25° to 30° C during testing. (5) The use of ring test-specimens instead of dumb-bell specimens.