Speaker
Description
Applications of natural rubber often involve biaxial deformation, yet most testing of rubber takes place using uniaxial deformation, despite the fact that, biaxial extension provides a more exacting test of theoretical models. In this work, we design and develop a novel equi-biaxial deformation stage which enables in-situ and time resolving small-angle X-Ray scattering and wide-angle X-ray scattering to be obtained during deformation. We use this system to study the strain induced crystallization of natural rubber in equi-biaxial mode, which takes place at uniaxial extensions typically greater than 4. The stage involves deforming a flat clamped circular disc of natural rubber about 1mm in thickness using compressed air into a hemispherical bubble, the pole of which exhibits equi-biaxial deformation. As this is a transmission device we are able to measure the absorption of the rubber sheet whilst it is being deformed to evaluate the thickness and hence the equi-biaxial extension ratio. We present preliminary results and describe the performance operation of the stage.
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