Rubber Compounding Information - ACS Publications - American

28 Rubber Compounding Information KATHLEEN

S. R O S T L E R

Downloaded by UNIV OF PITTSBURGH on May 4, 2015 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: January 1, 1968 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1968-0078.ch028

The Rubber Formulary, Materials Research & Development, Inc., Oakland Calif.

The

principal

of rubber pliers

sources

of information

are books, journals,

of raw materials

abstracts

covering

information

for

suppliers. while

journals

to the

the field. the

Books

records

of the information published

specific

in a form

for future

literature.

comments

consultation

of

information developments,

It is important

to assure easy

An annotated

to be

as

practical

is in releases

and

comparison

bibliography regarding

to

availability

in all four categories,

on each publication

of information

sup-

as well

known

production.

sources of information

and amount

of

serve to keep abreast of new

keep internal

principal

industry,

compounder

a review

some not yet in commercial

with

rubber

compounding

releases of

The richest source of

factory

furnish

on the

and technical

the

lists with type

found.

T

hirty years ago the subject of literature on rubber compounding was relatively simple because only natural rubber had to be considered. I n 1935 T . R. Dawson and B . D . Porritt authored a technical handbook, "Rubber Physical and C h e m i c a l Properties," i n w h i c h they were able to include, i n one v o l ume, the properties of all combinations of compounding ingredients w h i c h had been published up to that time. Since then rubber compounding has been complicated by the introduction of a large, continuously increasing number of synthetic elastomers, each requiring different compounding techniques and knowledge. Dawson and Porritt gave, i n tables of data taken from the original references, the then-known information on the effects of each compounding i n gredient on every property of rubber considered interesting. The book includes an "Index of Mixings," w h i c h lists every combination of rubber ingredient w h i c h had been published, w i t h a reference to the appropriate table i n the book. T h e number of compounds listed was 3226. Therefore, when natural rubber was the only polymer to consider, only 3226 different compounds had been published up to that time. B y contrast, The Rubber Formulary, w h i c h 486 In Literature of Chemical Technology; Smith, J.; Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1968.


28.

ROSTLER

Rubber Compounding

Information

487

reports only the most useful compounds from the literature, has reported over 20,000 compounds since the beginning of 1948. W h e n we consider the number of elastomers and new types of products developed i n the last 30 years, we begin to understand the problem of using the accumulated literature on rubber compounding. Furthermore, the compounder of today, who needs this literature to carry on his work effectively, is often located i n a small to medium-sized rubber factory. H e does not have available the services of a librarian or trained abstractor but must find this source material for himself. This situation is also often aggravated by lack of time for extensive literature searching as w e l l as the lack of an extensive library. There are four general sources of information on rubber compounding, the first two being books and journals. In the field of rubber compounding, however, a peculiar situation exists, i n that most of the available information is not i n books or technical journals, but i n the technical releases issued by the chemical manufacturers supplying the rubber fabricating industry. This is particularly true of the type of compounding information sought by the factory compounder. Another important, and usually the most frequently consulted source of compounding information, is the file of one's own compounds (in older times known as the "little black b o o k " ) . The rubber compounder thus has four categories of information at his disposal: books, journals, company releases, and private records. The annotated bibliography contains a list of books, periodicals, and suppliers' releases w h i c h are considered the principal sources of compounding information. This list is by no means complete and has been restricted to publications giving practical information of interest to compounders. Books Basic books are the first logical source of information on any subject. The bibliography lists basic books on rubber w h i c h contain enough information on compounding to be considered a source of formulations. However, these books are quickly outdated because new polymers and compounding ingredients continually appear on the market. Nevertheless, these books are useful to the young chemist seeking general information and to the experienced compounder starting to work i n an unfamiliar field. They are also important to the research worker who needs a condensed review of known information on a subject. F o r the usual compounding problem which arises for the factory compounder, basic books lose their usefulness soon after they are published. Nevertheless, it is important to have them on hand to refresh one's memory and to double check on facts. The section of the bibliography listing publications of suppliers to the industry cites a number of manuals and handbooks w h i c h use a looseleaf form to remain current. These books are kept up to date by adding new material or replacing portions w h i c h have become outdated by new developments. The companies supplying these manuals keep a list of subscribers who receive supplements as they are issued. T h e usefulness of ringbooks depends on keeping the book up to date and i n good order.

In Literature of Chemical Technology; Smith, J.; Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1968.

488

LITERATURE

OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY

T w o books w h i c h do not contain compounding information i n the strict sense, but are invaluable i n any library on rubber compounding, are "Materials and Compounding Ingredients for Rubber and Plastics," published by Rubber World, and "Rubber R e d Book," published by Rubber Age. Although information on compounding ingredients is more detailed i n the former, "Rubber R e d Book" is revised every year and is, therefore, more up-to-date. Compounders and purchasing agents do w e l l to consult both books. "International Rubber Directory" and "Rubber Trade Directory of Great B r i t a i n " fall into the same category.


Periodicals The list of periodicals i n the bibliography is rather short, and only those published i n the U n i t e d States and Great Britain are included. Although other periodicals also contain articles on rubber, only those w h i c h regularly publish information on compounding are listed. It w o u l d not be practical to try to include every periodical w h i c h ever published a paper on compounding. Foreign journals (except British) are also omitted from the listing, although a number of them regularly present papers on rubber compounding. T o a compounder i n this country their usefulness is limited by the fact that so many of the ingredients, as w e l l as the polymers, used i n the formulations are not readily available here. The journals of the American C h e m i c a l Society ( A C S ) — t h e Industrial 6- Engineering Chemistry Product Research and Development, and the Division of Rubber Chemistry's Rubber Chemistry and Technology—report studies on rubber compounding. M a n y of these studies are on materials w h i c h are still i n the experimental stage because A C S papers report new scientific work. In rubber compounding this frequently means development of new polymers or compounding ingredients. These publications present information w h i c h the compounder needs to keep abreast of developments i n the field. However, until the polymers and compounding ingredients become available commercially, this information provides little help i n day-to-day problems. W i t h these particular journals the situation is the reverse of that with basic books, i n that back issues are more valuable than the latest issues. Of the periodicals containing extensive compounding information the most useful for the factory compounder are Rubber Age, Rubber World, and the Journal of the IRI. Rubber Age and Rubber World frequently publish compounding studies w h i c h are both timely and practical. The Journal of the IRI is a particularly valuable source of compounding studies on natural rubber, a subject w h i c h takes second place i n publications of this country. British compounders depend to a greater extent on varying the composition of natural rubber mixes rather than on selecting special polymers to achieve various properties.


28.

ROSTLER

Rubber Compounding

Information

489

The F r e n c h journal, Revue Générale du Caoutchouc, for some years has included English abstracts of its technical papers and a complete translation of the principal article. Releases of Suppliers to the

Industry


The rubber industry is perhaps unique i n that technical information, rather than being available predominantly from journals or books, is for the most part, free from suppliers to the industry. This information provided i n suppliers' releases is both basic, i n that it pertains to systematic studies on variations of ingredients, and specific, i n that it suggests recipes to meet given requirements. The list of suppliers' releases i n the bibliography is not comprehensive. Almost every chemical supplier to the industry publishes valuable information on compounding concerning the use of his ingredients i n rubber mixes. The releases i n the bibliography have been selected as those w h i c h appear frequently and offer a wide range of information. Publications of suppliers are reviewed as they are released i n the book review sections of both Rubber Age and Rubber World. Hence, any chemist interested i n acquiring compounding literature may keep his library of suppliers' literature up to date by writing regularly for the latest releases. M a n y of the booklets are also mentioned i n the Literature portion of the " N e w Products This W e e k " section of Chemical and Engineering News. Compounding recipes and their properties published i n suppliers' literature are also available to compounders through The Rubber Formulary, w h i c h presents this information to subscribers monthly on marginally punched cards. Journal advertisements often invite readers to write for literature, an i n v i tation usually worth accepting. A telephone call to the local sales agent of any supplier w i l l also place an organization or individual on the mailing list for technical releases on rubber compounding. The fourth category of sources for compounding information, private records, needs no special discussion except for ways of keeping records so that this information is both up to date and easily available. This aim is served by proper cataloging, abstracting, and indexing of records. Abstracts and Indexes The most important aspect of the literature on any scientific subject is the availability of information. A specialist i n any field cannot and need not know all the facts, but he must know where and how to find them. Before discussing the available abstracting and indexing services for rubber compounding, indexes of individual publications should be mentioned. Not only do the journals i n the field print annual indexes, but those suppliers who publish extensively issue either annual subject indexes or cumulative indexes. It is not possible to discuss indexing services on rubber compounding without again mentioning the work of Dawson and Porritt. Although it covers



490

LITERATURE

OF C H E M I C A L TECHNOLOGY

the literature only up to 1935, it provides a means of finding anything published to that date. Of current abstracting and indexing services, those i n the English language w h i c h most extensively cover the field of rubber compounding are Chemical Abstracts, RAPRA Abstracts, "Bibliography of Rubber Literature," and The Rubber Formulary. Most compounding articles published i n technical journals, as w e l l as patents are abstracted i n Chemical Abstracts. However, since such a large proportion of the source material i n this field (suppliers' releases) is not found i n journals, much information w i l l be i n sources not listed i n Chemical Abstracts. RAPRA Abstracts (until 1952 called Summary of Current Literature), is published monthly by the Rubber and Plastics Research Association of Great Britain. It is the most outstanding publication i n the field for reporting and summarizing the current literature on rubber. The coverage is complete and i n cludes journals from all over the world, patents, books, and company releases. Abstracts range from a few lines to as much as half a column, and include literature references to other abstracts. "Bibliography of Rubber Literature," edited by M . E . Lerner, was started by Rubber Age, and is now published by the D i v i s i o n of Rubber Chemistry of A C S . It is essentially an index to the literature, and only one-sentence abstracts are given. Coverage is complete, citing books, journals, patents (since 1940), and company releases. References to more comprehensive abstracts are given. Presently the volumes published cover from 1935 through 1962. The committee working on this bibliography hopes within the next two years to bring the abstracts completely up to date. T h e Rubber F o r m u l a r y . The Rubber Formulary differs considerably i n nature from other abstracts. First, it is published on marginally punched cards, and second, the abstracting is done on the basis of individual compounds, each reported on a separate card. E a c h entry gives the original reference, the formulation, and all properties reported i n the original reference. Perhaps this publication might be described more accurately as a catalogue of published rubber compounds. The Rubber Formulary covers a l l articles appearing i n technical journals i n U n i t e d States and Great Britain w h i c h report formulations w i t h test data, and also technical releases of suppliers containing this type of information. This method of abstracting by individual compounds, w h i c h are coded by definitive properties and ingredients makes it possible to find the k i n d of information w h i c h is difficult or impossible to locate through a subject index. J . D . M o r r o n was the first to suggest using punch cards for filing and retrieving rubber compounding information i n 1930 when he described a system he had devised for use i n his laboratory ( I ) . B y means of coding compounds on I B M punched cards he was able later to find a l l compounds he h a d mixed having a given combination of physical properties. The laboratories of the Research Association of British Rubber M a n u facturers worked out a punched card system for filing compounds mixed and tested i n their laboratories. T h e compounds were indexed according to


28.

Rubber Compounding

ROSTLER

491

Information


ingredients used i n the mix a n d tests w h i c h h a d been performed on the compound. T h e system was described i n a bulletin issued to the members of the association i n 1948 ( 2 ) . The classifications used i n The Rubber Formulary for selecting cards from the file are Shore hardness, tensile at break, elongation, type of elastomer, and whether or not the compound contains carbon black as a filler. These classifications are used because they define a rubber compound i n general terms, are nearly always reported, are of interest to anyone w h o deals w i t h rubber compounds, and w i l l ordinarily select from a file a small enough number of cards to be looked over by hand for final selection. T h e card used for recording compounds is shown i n Figure 1. Detailed explanations for operating the file have been reported previously (3, 4, 5 ) .

COMPOUND NO: 15>'7ûLl

Mooney v i s c o s i t y ,

Breon PolyWend Soy100 Bisoflex 791*-* 10 Zinc oxide 5 MC Sulfur 0.5 Totramethylthiuram disulfide Benzcthiazyldisulfide Mark 33 Sp. g r . Ϊ 7 Γ Β See reverse side of card for i n j e c t i o n molded cure. SOURCE:

B

e

D

a

l

K L - U , 10U°C. 1?0°C. Mconay scorch, 120°C. (ir.in. to 5-point

Compression molded 5' 10' 15 at ( ° F . ) 307 307 307 B. S. hardness ( ° ) # * » 67 07 66 100* Modulus (psi) 1485 575 595 200* Modulus (psi) 1050 1100 1030 300* Modulus (psi) 1760 1600 1810 Tensile (psi) 1870 2k70 2060 Elongation (%) 320 360 320 Tear strength, 3S 903 ( l b . ) 27.0 At l 5 u ° C . 2.8

1

lise)

2' 365 67 790 1220 1750 280

U

1

365 67 700 1090 1600 1600 300

d>

6' 365 365 69 70 720 670 1180 1160 1760 1760 2030 1800 325 310

*55/U5 Blend of medium n i t r i l ? NBR/PVC, B r i t i s h Geon Ltd. * * F l a s t i c i z e r , D i s t i l l e r s Co. L t d . , U.K. •^^Approximately equivalent to Shore A.

e

Rubber J . 11+6, 50 (Jan. 196b)

Rubber Compounding Information - ACS Publications - American

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