Testing & validation
When testing and validating rubber, there are several different test methods depending on which properties you want to test. Below we describe the most common test methods.
Sample preparation
When testing rubber, one can start from either unvulcanized rubber or from vulcanized rubber products. The test may also refer to the unvulcanized or the vulcanized state. The sample preparation is a very important part of the testing and it is important to ensure that the test result does not reflect the sample preparation more than the properties of the material.
Conditioning of the sample material is also an important part of sample preparation.
Conditioning of the sample material is also an important part of sample preparation.
Mechanical testing
In this section you can read more about different test methods for testing mechanical properties.
- Density
- Dimensions
- Hardness
- Tensile test
- Pressure test
- Tear test
- Adhesion test
- Shear module
- Dynamic testing
- Bounce elasticity
- Residual strain
Thermal testing
In this section you can delve deeper into thermal testing.
- Cold test
- Compression set at low temperatures
- DMA - Dynamic Mechanical Analysis
Durability testing
In this section you can read about durability testing.
- Heat aging
- Residual strain
- Compression set
- Relaxation
- Life span
- Liquid resistance
- Weathering
- Abrasion test
- Dynamic fatigue
Other methods
Other testing methogs that are common in the rubber industry are the following:
- Discoloration
- Dispersion
- Permeability
- Fire test
- Electrical tests
- TGA – Thermogravimetric analysis