Effects of trans‐polyoctylene rubber on rheological and green tensile properties of natural rubber/acrylonitrile–butadiene rubber blends

Abstract The influence of trans‐polyoctylene rubber (TOR) on the flow property, die swell behaviour and green tensile property of NR (natural rubber)/NBR (acrylonitrile–butadiene rubber) blend compound was investigated as a function of TOR loading level. The pure TOR, NR and NBR compounds were also investigated for comparison with the blend compounds. The shear viscosity of TOR strongly depended on the temperature as well as shear rate. The viscosity of the NR/NBR blend compound was even lower than that of the constituent components at relatively lower shear rates, and the viscosity difference became smaller as the shear rate was increased. The viscosity of the NR/NBR blend compounds was strongly affected by the addition of TOR but the effect became negligible with increasing the shear rate. Both the die‐swell ratio and the surface topology of extrudates were also affected by TOR addition; the dependence on shear rate was much stronger for higher TOR level. The NR/NBR blend compound showed much higher green tensile strength and elongation at break than those of the constituent components. Both the green tensile modulus and strength of the NR/NBR blend compound were greatly enhanced, while the elongation at break was reduced with the addition of TOR. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry