The reputed School of Engineering and Applied Sciences John A. Paulson de Harvard (SEAS) has recently presented the conclusions about his latest study in relation to a type of rubber that resists crackingwith truly surprising results. Among other things because the improved process you have devised makes the material 10 times more resistant.
This project is led by Zhigang Suo, Professor Allen E. and Marilyn M. Puckett of mechanics and materials in Seas, and Yakov Kutsovsky, an expert resident in the Harvard Technological Development Office. According to Guodong Nian, first author and former postdoctoral researcher of SEAS: “Improving cracks will extend the useful life of the material and, therefore, will improve its sustainability.”
Rubber that resists cracking: conserve the properties of elasticity and durability is the key
Currently, rubber is present in an infinite figure of compound objects and materials present in our day to day, including condoms. So imagine the importance of being able to improve the durability and efficiency of a material of this relevance. This led to the world of motorcycle follows a similar tonic; Tires, Varia Manguitería, Closing Caps, Deposits, etc. They are manufactured in their entirety or partly with rubber.
In fact, brands such as Bridgestone have also worked to improve the durability of this material in their products. The German brand, in association with Arlanxeo and Solvay, presented a few years ago the Techsyn synthetic rubber technology, which allows up to 30% more duration, less friction and the same dry and wet grip.
Now the study presented by the be referring to this type of rubber that resists cracking, marks a turning point within the industry that is currently responsible for the processing of this material. “We use a low intensity processing method, based on latex processing methods, which preserved the long polymer chains”says Nian.
This is where precisely the quid of the matter lies to achieve a rubber that resists cracking much better than the conventional one. As explained in the project description:
“The rubber is harvested, coagulates, dry, mixed with additives, molds and heated to activate the vulcanization. This process creates short polymer chains inside the material, densely reticulated or chemically bound. ”
What the researchers have done to be able to create this rubber that resists cracking is to modify the traditional high intensity process, to induce a softer transformation that retains the long polymer chains in their natural state, instead of cutting them into shorter chains. About this argue:
“With an appearance similar to that of a tangled spaghetti, its so -called rubber” tangle “gives the new product greater durability by overcoming the cross bonds with tangles.”
The objective in this case is to deconcentrate the tension along a long distance, which makes the material more resistant to the growth of cracks than normal natural rubber. They conclude:
“When a crack is formed in the new material, the long strands of spaghetti distribute the tension sliding over each other, which allows more rubber crystallic as it stretches and, in general, makes the material stronger and more resistant to cracking.”
After this process, the rubber that resists cracking became four times more resistant to slow crack growth during repeated stretching. In general, it became ten times more resistant. Chen comments: “We imagine that the properties would be improved perhaps two or three times, but in reality they were improved in an order of magnitude.”
However, the development of this rubber that resists cracking implies a great evaporation of water, which produces a lower material volume than would be desirable for products such as tires. According to the report of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences John A. Paulson de Harvard (SEAS)
“Currently, it is more suitable for fine rubber products such as gloves or condoms. Other possibilities offered by the new process are flexible electronics or soft robotic pieces.”
