The Effect of Carbon Black and Types of Glass Fibre in Natural Rubber Latex Composite

In this research, six formulations were prepared consisting of 0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0% and 2.5% of carbon black (CB) loading into natural rubber (NR) latex. The points corresponding to 0% CB reflect pure rubber latex. Here, the effect of CB with different loadings in NR latex composite was studied. The evaluation of the CB particle dispersion in NR latex was done using optical microscope. The tensile strength of pure NR latex gave the highest value followed by the 1.0%, 0.5%, 2.5%, 1.5% and 2.0% of CB loading. The tensile modulus exhibited maximum values at 2.5% CB loading. The density of these NR latexes increased almost linearly with the increasing percentage of CB loading. 2.5% CB loading was chosen as a standard formulation to produce the NR latex/glass fibre (GF) composite laminates. These laminates were prepared through dipping process. It was found that the mechanical properties of the laminates highly depended on the type of GF used. The presence of woven fibre in NR latex/GF composite laminates increased the tensile strength of the laminates. However, addition of tissue fibre increased the elongation at break of NR latex/GF composite laminates.