FATIGUE LIFE, MORPHOLOGICAL STUDIES, AND THERMAL AGING OF RATTAN POWDER-FILLED NATURAL RUBBER COMPOSITES AS A FUNCTION OF FILLER LOADING AND A SILANE COUPLING AGENT

Fatigue life, morphological studies, and thermal aging properties of rattan powder-filled natural rubber (NR) composites were investigated as a function of filler loading and a silane coupling agent. NR composites were prepared by the incorporation of rattan powder in the range of 0 to 30 phr into a NR matrix with a laboratory size two roll mill. Thermal aging was carried out for 7 and 14 days at a temperature of 70 °C, and tensile testing was performed in order to determine the aging properties. The results indicated that the fatigue life of rattan powder-filled NR composites decreased with increasing rattan powder loading. Tensile strength and elongation at break decreased whilst tensile modulus, stress at 100% elongation (M100), and stress at 300% elongation (M300) increased after aging. Nevertheless, the addition of the silane coupling agent improved both fatigue life and the aging properties of NR composites due to better adhesion between the rubber matrix and the rattan filler which was confirmed by FTIR studies of composites and SEM studies of fatigue fractured surfaces.