Study on Cure Characteristics and Thermal Properties of Short Nylon Fibre/ Nanoclay Reinforced NR/SBR Nanocomposites

Elastomers are often reinforced with short fibers, so that they can be as a useful engineering material. These composites possess the strength and stiffness of the fibers and theelasticity of the matrix. One of the most important aspects of composite manufacture depends on the interfacial bondingbetween the fiber and the matrix. Chemical structures of both the fiber and the matrix and the presence of a bonding system determine the extent of interfacial adhesion and thus thestrength of the composites.The tri-component dry bonding system consisting of resorcinol, hexamethylenetetramine, and fine particle hydrated silica (HRH) can be used to achieve adhesion between short fiber and the rubber matrix. Someresearchers studied about how to use silica with small particlesand higher surface area [1]. Nanosilica can be more effective in improving the wettability of the fibers [2]. This work isabout the effects of short nylon fiber loading and nanoclay (which is used as a component in place of silica and also as anadditional filler) on the cure characteristics and thermal properties of the nanocomposites based on NR/SBR.