Radiation Vulcanisation of Short-Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Styrene-Butadiene Rubber Composites

The effects of short-carbon fibres on the anisotropy swelling, mechanical and electrical properties of radiation vulcanized styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) composites have been studied. The effect of radiation on the crosslinking density as well as the fracture mode of the composites have also been studied. It has been found that carbon fibre improves the reinforcement of SBR due to good adhesion between the fibre and the rubber matrix. However, increasing fibre loading leads to decrease the strength in spite of increasing the crosslinking density. Moreover, tensile fracture surfaces of the composites have been studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in order to assess the failure criteria. SEM studies indicate that the fracture mode depends mainly on the adhesion between the fibre and the matrix.