Five Indicators to Measure Rubber Quality

1. Appearance

The appearance quality of rubber directly affects its overall quality. High-quality rubber should have a uniform color, no obvious impurities such as oil stains, bubbles or rubber grains, and should not have any odor. Problems such as uneven color, presence of impurities, or odors may indicate that the performance and service life of the rubber may be affected.

2. Hardness

Hardness is an important physical property of rubber materials, which reflects the hardness and softness of rubber. Different application scenarios have different hardness requirements for rubber. For example, the rubber hardness required for automobile braking systems is usually between 70-80, while rubber sealing rings usually require a hardness between 40-60. The harder the rubber, the stronger and more wear-resistant it generally is.

3. Tensile strength

Tensile strength is an important indicator for evaluating the ability of rubber materials to resist fracture when subjected to tensile force. This indicator is closely related to factors such as rubber hardness, softness and processing technology. The higher the tensile strength, the more durable and strong the rubber product is generally.

4. Elongation at break

Elongation at break is a key indicator of the elasticity of rubber materials. It represents the ratio of the amount of elongation of a rubber material to its original length when stretched to break. The higher the elongation at break, the better the elasticity of the rubber material, which can withstand greater deformation without breaking easily; conversely, the lower elongation at break means that the rubber material is more brittle and prone to breakage.

5. Ash content

Ash content is the content of non-flammable impurities in rubber and is one of the important indicators for evaluating the purity and quality of rubber. Excessively high ash content may mean that the rubber is adulterated with too many impurities, which may affect the performance and life of the rubber product. Therefore, controlling the ash content within a reasonable range is crucial to ensuring the quality of rubber products.