Mechanical and Unlubricated Sliding Wear Properties of Nitrile Rubber Reinforced with Micro Glass Flake

In this study, the filled nitrile rubber (NBR) was prepared with micro glass flake (GF). The tribological behaviors of filled NBR were tested by a ball-on-disk tribometer. Material properties such as glass transition temperature (T(g)), fracture energy, tensile strength and dispersity of GF filler were also investigated. The results showed that the coefficient of friction (COF) of NBR reduced and the wear-resistant enhanced with the GF filler. Compared to unfilled NBR, the COF of filled NBR suffered a maximal drop percent (about 21.1%) at a rotation speed of 100 rpm and normal load of 1.5 N. Mechanical and wear behaviors were dependent on the interfacial performance of filler in the rubber matrix. Filler with smaller size was more conducive to enhance the interfacial strength of the polymer matrix. That can increase the interfacial strength of filler and benefits to improve the anti-wear behavior of rubber.