Plasticity
Plasticity
Plasticity
Introduction
Rapid plasticity is one of the basic tests used in the natural rubber industry and is the measurement of compression of a specimen of known thickness at a known temperature under a predetermined load for a known time. The Wallace Rapid Plastimeter, designed to conform to international standards, measures the thickness of a rubber sample to a very high degree of accuracy (0.001mm). One Wallace Rapid Plasticity unit represents a change in thickness of 0.01mm. Factors Affecting Results There are a number of test parameters which can affect the result such as platen temperature, platen parallelism, carrier paper, platen load, test duration, sample positioning and sample preparation. However, results are repeatable, provided all these parameters are controlled. During development of the P14 Rapid Plastimeter, Wallace engineers carried out detailed investigations on how these factors influenced the test results. Platen P arallelism Parallelism Lack of platen parallelism also affects the result (see table 2). This is particularly so when the alternative platen sizes allowed in the standard are used so the parallelism must be reset every time the platen is changed.
PLASTICITY
Angle of tilt ()
0.00 33.0 32.0 31.0
Plasticity number
32.5 32.0 31.0 33.0 32.0 31.5 32.5 31.5 31.0
Test P rocedure Procedure The size of the test sample (0.4cm3) is defined by the standard. Before being positioned between the platens, the specimen is placed between 2 pieces of carrier paper to protect the platens from contamination. The test pre-compresses the sample for 15 seconds to 1mm (at a temperature of 100C for natural rubber) and then further compresses the sample for 15 seconds under a load of 100N. The plasticity number is a measure of the final sample thickness, reflecting the degree of flow within the sample.
0.65
Temperature Tight temperature control is important (see table 1). The platens of the obsolete Wallace P1 and P12 instruments were steam heated leading to large temperature variations in many cases. With the current P14 Plastimeter the platens are electrically heated, and can be checked and adjusted accordingly.
Temperature (C)
102 101 100 99 98
1.30
Sample Carrier P Paper aper The dependence of the result on the sample paper used is important (see table 3 - see page 12). Use of the paper recommended by the standard will ensure that results are consistent. Other sample carriers may be used (after validation) and will produce different, but consistent results. The paper size is also important and if larger sample papers are used, the effect of the heat-shield around the platen can lead to significantly low readings.
Plasticity number
31.0 30.5 31.0 31.5 32.0 32.0 30.5 31.5 31.0 31.0 32.0 32.5 31.0 31.5 32.0 31.5 32.0 33.0
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95
Continued on page 12
PLASTICITY
The Rapid Plastimeter measures the plasticity of natural or unvulcanised rubber to international testing standards. The instrument may be used in conjunction with the Wallace Ageing Chamber (see page 13) to determine the Plasticity Retention Index (PRI) of raw natural rubbers. The variable temperature model (P14/ VT) characterises the flow behaviour of synthetic rubber compounds as, unlike the other models, its platen temperatures can be varied between 60C & 180C. For some applications the P14/VT offers a quick, low cost alternative to a Mooney Viscosity test. The P14 features an attractive C frame design, providing easy access for the operator when loading and removing samples from between the heated platens. Clear instructions are displayed on the front LCD panel so that the user can have the instrument calibrated and ready for sample testing in seconds.
SPECIFICATION
PLASTIMETER Dimensions, w x d x h , mm 300 x 360 x 420 Weight, kg 20 Platen temp. P14/1,2,3 1000C P14/ VT 600C - 1800C Upper platen dia., mm 10 (fitted) 7.3, 14 Lower platen dia., mm 16 Test duration, secs. 15 conditioning 15 load Compressive load, N 100 PRINTER Characters, per line Paper width, mm Dimensions, w x d x h , mm Weight, kg DATA TERMINAL QWERTY keypad 16 characters, 2 line LCD display Dimensions, w x d x h , mm 290 x 150 x 140 Weight, kg 0.495
SPECIMEN CUTTER Sample thickness, mm 3 Sample volume, cm3 0.4 Dimensions, w x d x h, mm 80 x 335 x 260 4.0 Weight, kg
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PLASTICITY
Paper Type
Cigarette paper Hand towel paper Hard toilet paper Wrapper fill Toilet tissue Photocopy paper Tissue paper Tracing paper Brown paper Mylar paper Cling film
Plasticity number
36.5 37.0 33.0 35.0 35.0 37.0 38.0 38.0 46.5 44.0 53.0 43.0 52.0 53.0 49.0 57.0 59.5 58.0 32.5 33.0 23.0 22.0 36.0 34.0 36.5 36.0 45.0 49.0 51.5 52.0 57.0 34.0 23.0
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