Natural Rubber-Whisker Alumina Fiber Composite Materials for Mechanical and Thermal Insulation Applications

Abstract

Alumina fiber is a ceramic material used as a dispersed phase or filler to reinforce the mechanical and improve thermal properties of natural rubber via vulcanization process at curing temperature 150°C. The amount of alumina fiber added in natural rubber was varied from 0 to 50 phr on 100 phr of natural rubber in a sulfur curing system. Adding 10 phr alumina fiber affects to obtain the best natural rubber composite samples having good mechanical and thermal properties. Tensile strength, elongation at break, Young’s modulus and thermal conductivity of adding 10 phr whisker alumina fiber encoded NR-Al-10 are equal to 14.38±1.95 MPa, 1038.4±41.45%, 545.63±25.67 MPa and 0.2376±0.0003 W/m.K, respectively, better than those of pure natural rubber compounds without adding alumina fiber. Tensile strength, elongation at break, Young’s modulus and thermal conductivity of natural rubber without adding alumina fiber are equal to 14.06±6.03 MPa, 949.41±52.15%, 496.32±8.54 MPa and 0.2500±0.0003 W/m.K, respectively.