Manifestation of the silicate filler additives and electron beam irradiation on properties of SBR/devulcanized waste tire rubber composites for floor tiles applications

Virgin styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) was replaced by devulcanized waste tire rubber (DWR) 50/50 and used as a rubber base for preparing composites to depend on different silicate types at fixed content 40 phr (part per hundred part of rubber). All composites were mixed on a rubber roll mill and then subjected to electron beam irradiation to induce cross-linking at a dose of 100 kGy. Different silicate fillers were used in this study such as precipitated silica (PS) 40 phr, waste glass window (WG) - PS 20/20 phr, fly ash (FA)-PS 20/20 phr, and micaosilica (MS)-PS 20/20 phr. Waste silicate was treated with (3-aminopropyl) trimethoxysilane (APTMS) and blended with PS. Mechanical properties were measured for the composites like ultimate tensile strength, elongation at break, tensile modulus, and the cross-link density was calculated from the mechanical study. As well as, application for floor tiles included compression set and abrasion resistance measurements. All results indicated an enhancement in ultimate tensile strength, modulus, and cross-link density by adding silicate fillers and more enhanced in the electron beam irradiated samples. For the application of floor tiles, the MS filler gave a good compression set and abrasion resistance followed by other silicate fillers (PS, FA), except WG.

Automated summary

By adding silicate fillers and irradiating with electron beams, mechanical properties of composites can be significantly improved, especially enhancing ultimate tensile strength, modulus, and cross-link density. Among the silicate fillers, micaosilica showed the best performance in floor tile application.