Click here to view our Product Catalogue (More Products will be added every week)

05/15/2023

Which Rubber to use – Properties of rubber compounds

Properties of rubber compounds

The below table is for use as a guide, and represents a highly simplified overview. AVMR moulds a wider variety of materials than in this table.

It is possible to improve rubber compounds performance in a particular area by using additives, for example, natural rubber’s oxidation, ozone & weather resistance properties can be improved significantly.

*Common name*	Natural	SBR	EPDM	Butyl	Neoprene	Nitrile	Therban	Viton
Chemical name	Isoprene	Styrene Butadiene Copolymer	Ethelene Propylene & a Diene	Isobutene – Isoprene	Chloroprene	Acrylonitrile Butadiene Copolymer	Hydrogenated Acrylonitrile Butadiene	Fluoronated Hydrocarbon
Abbreviation	NR	SBR	EPDM	IIR	CR	NBR	HNBR	FKM
Hardness range (° ShA)	30 – 95	40 – 95	20 – 85	30 – 85	30 – 90	40 – 100	50 – 95	50 – 95
Colours	Full range	Full range	Full range	Limited range	Limited range	Limited range	Full range	Limited range
Physical Strength	Excellent	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good
Compression Set	Good	Good	Good	Good	Fair	Good	Good	Good
Tear resistance	V Good	Fair	Good	Good	Good	Good	V. Good	Good
Abrasion resistance	Excellent	V. Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	V. Good	Good
Bonding	Good	Good	Fair	Fair	Good	Good	Good	Good
RESISTANCE/LIMITS:
Continuous Heat	75°C	85°C	130°C	130°C	95°C	100°C	140°C	205°C
Short term Heat	105°C	115°C	150°C	150°C	125°C	130°C	165°C	260°C
Low temp	-40°C	-40°C	-40°C	-40°C	-40°C	-20°C	-20°C	-20°C
Oxidation	Fair	Fair	Excellent	Excellent	V. good	Good	Excellent	Excellent
Ozone & weather	Poor	Poor	Outstanding	Outstanding	V. good	Fair	V. good	Excellent
Gas permeation	Fair	Fairly low	Fairly low	Excellent	Low	Low	Good	Very low
Flame	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Self-Extinguishing	Poor	Poor	Self Extinguishing
Water absorption	Very good	Good	Excellent	Excellent	Fair	Good	V. Good	Good
Acids	Fair	Fair	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Excellent
Bases	Good	Good	Good	Good	Fair	Fair	Good	Fair
Alcohol @20°C	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Excellent	Good
Acetone @20°C	Fair	Fair	Good	Good	Fair	X	Good	X
Benzene @20°C	X	X	X	X	X	X	Fair	Good
Fuel: ASTM Fuel B @40°C	X	X	X	X	Poor	Fair	Good	Excellent
Oil: ASTM Oil 1 @20°C	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
@100°C	X	X	X	X	Good	Good	Excellent	Excellent (@150°C)
Oil: ASTM Oil 3 @20°C	X	X	X	X	Good	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
@100°C	X	X	X	X	Fair	Good	Excellent	Excellent (@150°C)

X – Unsuitable or unsatisfactory performance

Note: the above data is provided as a general guide only. Mistakes might have been made in compiling this information. Customers must assure themselves that products are safe to use and perform as required under the relevant user scenarios.

Part 1: Introduction to Rubber
Part 2: Benefits of using Rubber
Part 4: Refining the compound