Abrasion Behaviors of NR/BR Compounds Using Laboratory Abrasion Tester

The abrasion behaviors of NR/BR blend vulcanizates were investigated using NR/BR = 100/0, 80/20, and 60/40 compounds. The abrasion test was performed using a laboratory abrasion tester (LAT) at slip angles of 1° and 7°. The size distributions of the wear particles and the abrasion rates were examined according to the rubber compositions and slip angles. The most abundant wear particles at the slip angle of 1° were sizes above 1,000 μm, irrespective of the rubber composition. The most abundant wear particles at 7° slip angle had sizes in the range of 212-500 μm, except for the NR = 100 sample. The wear particle size distribution shifted to a smaller size as the slip angle and BR content increased. The abrasion rate at 7° was much larger than that at 1° slip angle. Furthermore, the abrasion rate was notably increased by adding BR to NR.