Anisotropic behavior of frictional performance of aligned carbon nanotubes/styrene butadiene rubber composites

Abstract

The oriented nanotubes reinforced styrene butadiene rubber (CNTs/SBR) composites were prepared by applying the mechanical shear induction method, and the laws of carbon tube content and orientation on the mechanical and tribological properties of the composite rubber materials were investigated. The mechanisms of these results were analyzed. The results show that the orientation of CNTs has a significant impact on the tribological properties of SBR composites. When CNTs-z are perpendicular to the friction interface and sliding direction, the mechanical and tribological properties of CNTs-z/SBR are superior to those of CNTs-x/SBR and CNTs-y/SBR. When CNTs are parallel to the friction interface, the mechanical properties of CNTs-x/SBR aligned with the sliding direction are better than those perpendicular to the sliding direction. CNTs-z can improve the shear resistance of rubber composites, reduce the magnitude of temperature rise and surface adhesion, and effectively improve the tribological properties of rubber materials. Under load and speed conditions, the friction coefficient and wear extent are negatively correlated. The friction coefficient decreases while the wear increases, and the effect of speed on tribological properties is greater than that of load. The research results can provide scientific references for improving the tribological properties and industrial application of CNTs composites tire rubber materials.

Keywords

• rubber composites
• aligned carbon nanotubes
• tribological property
• mechanical property