Preparation and characterization of natural rubber/butadiene rubber based elastomeric materials and examination of its use as primary suspension damping elements in rail system vehicles

The aim of this thesis is to prepare rubber compound systems with different ratios and different types of carbon blacks by using natural rubber and butadiene rubber, and identification of vulcanization conditions and characterization of these prepared mixtures, to evaluate the effectiveness of carbon black used and also using of these mixtures as the primary suspension in rail systems vehicles to be elastomer based conical springs In this thesis, four different compounds were prepared Compounds were prepared by using different ratios and types of carbon black as filler by keeping the ratio of natural rubber butadiene rubber constant. First, the curing behavior of the prepared rubber mixtures in the Moving die Rheometer (MDR) device was investigated. Test plates were produced in the hydraulic press at the temperature and time determined according to the curing characteristics. Hardness, permanent deformation, mechanical tests and thermal aging tests were carried out on the prepared test plates. In order to evaluate the effect of the type of carbon black used in rubber mixtures and to evaluate other dynamic mechanical properties, the storage modulus values and cross-link densities of the mixtures at different frequencies were found with the help of Rubber Process Analyser (RPA) system. In order to observe the storage module effect of the carbon black effect, frequency scanning was performed with DMA device at different frequencies by using discs prepared from rubber mixtures. The damping properties of the mixtures were also determined with Elastomer Testing System , in order to evaluate its use in the conical spring product for separator discs, damping, natural frequency, vibration permeability and stiffness of the mixtures were evaluated by scanning at different frequencies under load with the test device. In the light of the data obtained, an elastomer-based conical spring was prepared with the NR50 formula selected from among the mixtures, and in order to examine its compliance with the specification values defined for the conical spring and its usability in the vehicle, permanent deformation, displacement (resistance) tests under vertical – lateral load were carried out for the elastomer-based conical springs. As a results of the experimental studies, it has been proven that the developed mixtures in this thesis can be used in elastomer-based conical springs.