Chemical Analysis Center, Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd, Kobe, Japan.
Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Hyogo, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2023 Apr 10;13(1):5805. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-33137-8.
Notwithstanding the various uses of rubber, the fracture mechanism of filler-reinforced rubber remains unclear. This study used four-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT) involving monochromatic synchrotron X-rays to examine the cavitation within silica-reinforced rubber quantitatively and systematically. The results suggested a threshold value of silica content for the cavitation morphology. Macroscopic fractures, such as those developed by void formation, occurred below the threshold value of silica content. Above this threshold, the density of rubber decreased but macroscopic voids rarely occurred. The lower-density rubber area in the high-silica-content rubber was reversible at the effective pixel size for 4D-CT. These results suggest that the growth of the damage points to macrosized voids could be stopped by the formation of a network of rigid polymer layers. This study allows the elucidation of the reinforcing mechanism and the cavitation morphology of filler-reinforced rubber.
尽管橡胶有多种用途，但填充增强橡胶的断裂机制仍不清楚。本研究使用涉及单色同步加速器 X 射线的四维计算机断层扫描 (4D-CT) 对二氧化硅增强橡胶中的空化进行定量和系统地研究。结果表明，存在一个二氧化硅含量的空化形态阈值。宏观裂缝，如由空洞形成产生的裂缝，发生在二氧化硅含量的阈值以下。在这个阈值之上，橡胶的密度降低，但宏观空洞很少发生。在高硅含量橡胶中低密度橡胶区域在 4D-CT 的有效像素尺寸下是可逆的。这些结果表明，通过形成刚性聚合物层网络，可以阻止损伤点向宏观大空洞的增长。本研究阐明了填充增强橡胶的增强机制和空化形态。
