Rubber is one in innumerable ways and hugely. It is unimaginable to think of life. Its discovery is among the best of all time. Natural rubber is thought to have been discovered initially by a South American Indian girl as the tears of a Crying tree. The natives were using it in an assortment of primitive ways, viz., for clothes, shoes, and even for creating bouncing balls for kids to play. Without processing it to match a particular need, rubber in its initial form as derived from latex finds use. Actually rubber does not have properties that are stable as it become brittle or may get plastic at temperatures.
The tpu material elastomer use of rubber products is immense because of its many outstanding properties of rubber, specifically, its elasticity, its mould ability into any desired shape or size, the adaptability for changing it to match the desired engineering properties, e.g., strength or durability, through chemical, pressure and thermal treatments. Vulcanization procedure alters the structure of the polymer chains of rubber leading to altered mechanical and physical properties. The present paper briefly discusses a) some elements of the unique elastic properties of rubber in comparison to other engineering materials and how these are used for industrial uses and b) examples of computer simulation of its mechanical behavior by way of the finite element method.
NEW AGE INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS
Some of the new age industries where elastomers are broadly used are listed below:
- Automotive: Tuned mass dampers, rubbers Seals, tyre and tube fabricating, pipes and hoses, boots, sleeves and covers various equipment is, etc.
- Aerospace: Air management ducts, Diaphragms, inside foils, hose and hoselines, air spring systems, etc.
- Defense: Coating for radar and other defense equipment is, camouflage netting, radar absorbing material, low RCS antennas, de-icing of aircraft wings by resistive heating, etc.
- Others: Cosmetic Products, coatings and paints, cement and concrete adhesives, special wood protection coatings, biocompatible materials, medical and dental adhesives, etc.