Experimental Design Approach; Rubber Compound Formulation Guidance

Evaluation of different raw material, or formulations, for rubber compounding is often limited to “simple dimension comparison” studies which give limited information about the synergetic aspects of different ingoing components and/or loading effect on final properties of the rubber compound. This study is based on an experimental design approach where several parameters are evaluated simultaneously in order to build a multiple dimensional information base on how to best optimize formulations in order to steer certain properties in a PCR rubber formulation.

The study was carried out on a functionalized SSBR and BR, silica based rubber compound in which several formulation parameters were varied in a controlled way for further evaluation in a multi variate data analysis program.  The variables was e.g. SBR to BR ratio, process oil loading and resin addition as well as cure system modifications. The variables effect was evaluated on properties such as rheological performance, including tan delta at relevant temperatures, abrasion and mechanical characteristics. 

The result show that it is possible to optimize rubber compound formulating with the aid of multiple variable analysis tools and by that steer specific performance properties  that depends on components ratio as well as synergetic effects.