Towards An Effective Modeling of Filled Rubbers Via An Understanding of the Relationships Between Filler Dispersion and Viscoelastic Properties. Part I : Dispersion and Linear Viscoelastic Properties

Complex polymer systems such as carbon black filled rubber compounds exhibit a set of properties whose origin is currently assigned to specific interactions that develop between the rubber matrix and the filler particles, and the resulting self-structuring that results from such interactions. Numerous engineering applications pragmatically use those specificities. From a fundamental point of view, one can see such systems as multiple layers of reduction in order to fully comprehend and model the physical behavior of the involved micro and macro structure. Theories that take into account classical hydrodynamics, rupture mechanics, the percolation concept, and the many tools developed in rheology have to be used so that relative information on the filler-filler and the filler-polymer networks are obtained. It is proposed here that a direct method for measuring carbon black agglomeration, can be combined with advanced rheological measurements to provide a model for carbon black filled systems with a clarity not previously observed. To demonstrate the capabilities of this approach, an ideal standard SBR1500 formulation is considered so that various compounds with carbon black fractions in the 0 to 0.184 volume fraction range were prepared in carefully controlled lab-mixing conditions. Experimental results are reported through two companion presentations. The present one is dealing with the microscopic characterization of dispersion and linear viscoelastic properties.