Abstract

Natural rubber (NR) is widely used in various fields including aerospace, military industry and transportation due to its superior elasticity and comprehensive mechanical properties. Nonetheless, the commercial NR prepared by different methods usually exhibits different mechanical properties, primarily due to variations in processing conditions during the conversion from latex to bulk rubber material. Consequently, this poses challenges in scientific research and industrial production of NR. In order to assess the properties of various commercially available NR and identify key structural and compositional components, this study systematically compares and analyzes four representative NR raw materials: air dried sheet (ADS), ribbed smoked sheets (RSS), constant viscidity NR (CV), and whole field latex rubber (WF). The investigation focuses on evaluating their static mechanical behavior, SIC behavior, wear resistance, and fatigue resistance. The findings indicate that protein and gel content exhibit a crucial influence on the NR properties. These constituents contribute to the formation of a high-crosslinking density region, generating a heterogeneous network structure within the rubber. This structure amplifies strains during deformation, leading to earlier and stronger strain-induced crystallization (SIC). Among the four commercial NR brands, RSS demonstrates superior overall mechanical and dynamic properties owing to its high protein and gel content. This study serves as a valuable reference for comprehending the differences in properties among various commercial NR, thereby offering guidance for the actual processing and selection of NR.

中文翻译：

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揭示不同方法制备天然橡胶的结构性能差异：蛋白质和凝胶含量是关键因素

摘要

天然橡胶（NR）因其优越的弹性和综合力学性能而广泛应用于航空航天、军工、交通运输等各个领域。尽管如此，通过不同方法制备的商业天然橡胶通常表现出不同的机械性能，这主要是由于从乳胶到本体橡胶材料的转化过程中加工条件的变化。因此，这对天然橡胶的科学研究和工业生产提出了挑战。为了评估各种市售天然橡胶的性能并确定关键的结构和组成成分，本研究系统地比较和分析了四种具有代表性的天然橡胶原材料：风干片材（ADS）、罗纹烟熏片材（RSS）、恒粘度天然橡胶（CV） ）、全场乳胶橡胶（WF）。研究重点是评估它们的静态机械行为、SIC 行为、耐磨性和抗疲劳性。研究结果表明蛋白质和凝胶含量对 NR 特性具有至关重要的影响。这些成分有助于形成高交联密度区域，从而在橡胶内产生异质网络结构。这种结构会放大变形过程中的应变，从而导致更早更强的应变诱导结晶 (SIC)。在四个商业 NR 品牌中，RSS 由于其高蛋白质和凝胶含量而表现出优异的整体机械和动态性能。本研究对于了解各种商业天然橡胶的性能差异具有重要参考价值，从而为天然橡胶的实际加工和选择提供指导。