U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

W. AVERELL HARRIMAN, Secretary NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

E. U. CONDON, Director

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATION M185

RUBBER RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY AT

THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

By LAWRENCE A. WOOD

Issued May 1, 1947

UNITED STATES

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON 25 : 1947

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. - Price 10 cents
CONTENTS

Page

I. Introduction 1

II. Rubber research and technology 3

1. Natural rubber: Crude-rubber production, evaluation, and

testing 3

2. Synthetic rubbers: Production and testing 3

3. Latex 5

4. Purification of rubber 5

5. Forms of rubber: Crystallization and other transitions in rubber. 6

6. Constants and properties of rubber 6

7. Chemical reactions of rubber 8

8. Constants and properties of monomers and other materials

related to rubber 9

9. Chemical analysis of rubber 11

10. Physical testing of rubber 11

11. Rubber products 12

12. Specifications for rubber goods 13

13. General information on rubber 13

III. Bibliography of NBS publications 14 n
RUBBER RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

AT THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

By Lawrence A. Wood

ABSTRACT

This paper consists of a summary of the activities of the National Bureau of Standards relating to natural rubber, synthetic rubbers, and related materials.

It gives a brief outline of the work carried out in each of 13 different fields of

investigation, and concludes with 174 references to publications by members of the staff of the National Bureau of Standards.

I. INTRODUCTION

About 4 years after its* establishment in 1901, the National Bureau

of Standards began its first work on rubber. The first problem was

the development of methods of analysis of cable insulation. Over the

years since then a great many different types of investigation have

been conducted.

This diversified scientific research on rubber has led to the solution

of many problems of interest to both the Government and private

industry. Much of the research has been concerned with the determination of fundamental properties and constants, and the development of methods of test. In addition, the National Bureau of Standards makes studies of the over- all performance of rubber products,

including tires, assists in the development of specifications for synthetic rubbers and for rubber products of all kinds, and gives technical

assistance and advice to other government agencies and the public.

The nature and emphasis of the work have changed, over the years, corresponding to the accumulation of knowledge and to the great

expansion of the rubber industry. For example, much of the work

before 1925 concerned chemical analysis and physical testing of nat- ural rubber. After 1940 this type of work again came into prominence

in connection with the synthetic rubbers. In the intervening years

much attention was given to the determination of physical constants and propertied. Work on wild rubbers, largely given up about 1915,

had to be resumed between 1940 and 1945 when supplies of plantation

rubber from the Far East were cut off. The national synthetic rubber

program has called for extensive work since 1940 on the monomers

and other raw materials used in the production of the synthetic

rubbers.

The rubber industry has adopted a great many testing devices first developed at the National Bureau of Standards. Among the more

outstanding may be mentioned the endurance wheel for tire testing

and the abrasion test machine. Likewise, its research work has fur1
2 Miscellaneous Publications, National Bureau of Standards

nished the basis for many standard practices now employed in industrial testing. Examples of this are the use of flat dumbbell test speci- mens and the introduction of standard conditions of temperature and

humidity. More complete details regarding these matters are given

below in the section dealing with physical testing.

International contacts were established with a number of European

rubber laboratories in 1938, when two members of the Rubber Section

attended the International Rubber Technology Conference in London.

They investigated the research activities of a number of laboratories

in England, France, and Holland as well as the major (German

synthetic rubber research laboratory at Leverkusen. During 1943

and 1944 a member of the Section was detailed to Belem, Para, Brazil,

to establish a rubber testing and research laboratory for the Brazilian

government as a part of the Instituto Agronomico do Norte, a national

agricultural research institute. The Rubber Section has continued

to act in an advisory capacity in this laboratory, which has recently

taken over the operation of the Ford plantations in Brazil. In the

Fall of 1946 a British physicist from the British Rubber- Producers'

Research Association laboratories was detailed to spend a year as guest worker at the National Bureau Of Standards.

Early in 1943 the Office of the Rubber" Director requested the. National Bureau of Standards to expand its work on synthetic rubber

and to assist the Rubber Reserve Co. in the standardization of the

quality of the synthetic rubber. Since then it has participated in the

program to the full extent of its facilities. Supplementing the facili- ties of the Bureau's own grounds where most of the work is done, there

is also a laboratory at 203 Bryant Street, N. W., in Washington, for

chemical analyses of synthetic rubbers.

The National Bureau of Standards has played a considerable part

in developing a number of the tests, described more fully in a later

section, now being used in the synthetic rubber plants. Among them

are the use of refractive index as a method of determining the

styrene content of a GR-S copolymer and the determination of freez- ing points as a method of measuring the purity of styrene, butadiene,

and other monomers. The scope of the research at the National Bureau of Standards, it will be noted, does not overlap the work of the Department of Agriculture, which deals with the studies relating to the cultivation and

preparation of rubber from different botanical sources. Furthermore, it does not duplicate the work of other government agencies, such

as the military services, which are usually interested in the testing

of finished rubber products of specific concern only to the particular

agency.

An extensive program of testing and research on plastics supplements the work on rubber in many respects. There is particularly

close coordination in the fields of polymerization, determination of

molecular weights, and similar phases.

At the present time about 45 persons at the National Bureau of

Standards spend their full time in work on natural and synthetic

rubbers and materials used in the synthetic rubber program. In addition, there are a number of others devoting part time or acting in a supervisory capacity. The work at present is financed in part by
Rubber Research and Technology 3

direct Congressional appropriations and in part by a transfer of funds

from the Office of Rubber Reserve. Some testing work is supported

by transfer of funds from other agencies.

II. RUBBER RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

The possible number of phases of research on rubber is relatively

large, and profitable investigations may be carried out in many differ- ent fields. This section lists 13 6f these fields and shows why work

is required in each of them. It also outlines very briefly what the

National Bureau of Standards has done on each subject in the past.

Where the work is of limited interest, the results are presented in

the form of reports to the specific organization concerned. Where

the work is of general interest, the results are presented in the form

of printed publications. Over the years the research investigations on rubbers and related materials at the National Bureau of Standards

have led to the publication of over 170 papers by members of its

staff. In this section, references are made, by numbers in brackets,

to a list of these publications, classified under the same 13 headings

given in section III.

1. NATURAL RUBBER: CRUDE-RUBBER PRODUCTION,

EVALUATION, AND TESTING

The system under which natural rubber was bought by American

manufacturers before the war was such as to give them almost no

control over the quality of the rubber they received. The uniformity

of day-to-day shipments was so poor that each manufacturer was

required to carry on large-scale blending operations to maintain

moderately constant properties. Experience with synthetic rubbers,

having a uniformity maintained by testing both at the producing

plant and at the consuming factory, has led rubber product manufacturers to call for the development of new and improved test methods

for crude natural rubber. These must be methods that can be applied

both on the plantations, where virtually no testing has been done

hitherto, and also in the American rubber factories. Between 1942 and 1945 the National Bureau of Standards tested more than 1000 samples of wild natural rubbers for the Rubber

Development Corporation. On the basis of these tests a method of

evaluating such rubbers has been proposed. Work is under way for

the extension of this method to the evaluation of plantation rubbers.

A rubber laboratory [1 to 4] 1 was set up and operated under the

direction of a member of the Rubber Section at the Instituto Agronomico do Norte in Belem, Para, Brazil, in 1942-44. As a result, the

section has personnel with first-hand tropical experience in problems

of natural rubber production and is continuing work on some of these

problems.

2. SYNTHETIC RUBBERS: PRODUCTION AND TESTING

America's war-time synthetic rubber program affords a remarkably

close parallel to this country's work on the atomic bomb. On each

program the total expenditures were of the order of two billion dollars,

the rubber program producing some counterbalancing income. Each

1 Figures in brackets indicate the literature references at the end of this paper.
4 Miscellaneous Publications, National Bureau of Standards was strikingly successful and was completed according to a schedule

laid out several years in advance. In each there was unprecedented

teamwork by large groups of men working as parts of many different

organizations under Government direction and control. Finally, and

most important from the standpoint of the present discussion, each

program was an engineering achievement based entirely on fundamental knowledge gained before the war. Much subsidiary research

had to be done, but the basic principles in each case were completely

familiar to scientists in 1939. It is significant that no new variety

of synthetic rubber of demonstrated value was discovered during the war.Engineering accomplishments in synthetic rubber have by now

taken full advantage of the known principles of the fundamental

science involved. It is generally agreed that future progress depends on developing new basic principles. We can no longer rely on German laboratories, where so many of these principles have been developed in the past. There is obvious need for fundamental research on the production of synthetic rubbers.

As new types of synthetic rubber are made in the laboratory, better

methods should be developed to evaluate their qualities. At present

the complete evaluation is highly empirical and requires extensive

service tests. The limited quantity of material available precludes

such tests on more than a very small fraction of the polymers produced. After a rubber has gone into large-scale production, methods

must be available to test it for uniformity.

A visit by two of the members of the Rubber Section to the major

German synthetic rubber research laboratory at Leverkusen in 1938,

and a thorough survey of the published literature led to the issuance

of NBS Circular C427 [6] on synthetic rubber in June 1940. The

Circular, which appeared at a very opportune time, has had a wide

distribution, and was much used in the early days of the American

synthetic rubber program.

Since 1943, when the work on synthetic rubber was expanded, more

than 100 extensive mimeographed reports on this work have been

written and distributed through the Office of Rubber Reserve to participants in the national rubber program. Because they have not as yet been released for general distribution, they are not listed with the

publications in section III. The test methods now in use in the American synthetic rubber

plants are so many and varied that several large laboratory manuals

have been issued solely to describe the procedures. They have been

developed by a cooperative effort on the part of many different labora- |j tories, coordinated by the Office of Rubber Reserve. The National

Bureau of Standards has contributed to the development of a number

of these methods and to the committee work involved in their general

adoption. A member of the Bureau staff was selected for the Committee on Specifications for Synthetic Rubbers, and has served as chairman of its Subcommittee on Test Methods. Others have par- jj ticipated in the activities of the Polymer Research Discussion Group. I GR-S, the synthetic rubber being produced in largest quantities, is a copolymer of butadiene and styrene. Consequently, a determina- j
Rubber Research and Technology 5

tion of the ratio of the two constituents of the polymer is an important

analytical problem. The method now in use m the plants producing

GR-S was developed at the National Bureau of Standards in 1944.

It involves a measurement of the refractive index of the rubber, from

which impurities have been removed by extraction. The relation used

1 is based on high-precision measurements of the carbon-hydrogen ratio

in GR-S. The reproducibility of the index measurement is such that

repeated determinations of the styrene content rarely differ by more

than 0.2 percent in the normal GR-S, which contains about 24 percent

of bound styrene.

3. LATEX

Rubber emerges from the trunk of a rubber tree, or from the polymerization reactor in synthetic rubber production, in the form of

liquid latex, similar in appearance to milk. More and more rubber

products each year are made directly from latex, especially such arti- cles as rubber gloves, rubber thread, waterproofed fabrics, and spongerubber upholstery. The storage, transportation, and use of latex give

rise to problems of a specialized nature. The work on latex at the National Bureau of Standards has been

limited largely to the compiling of general information on the subject

[9]. Inquiries from small business firms are particularly frequent

because many latex products can be readily produced on a small scale

without expensive equipment.

4. PURIFICATION OF RUBBER

Crude rubber, either natural or synthetic, usually contains between

5 and 10 percent of nonrubber constituents. Removal of these constituents, at least partially, is a necessary preliminary to a great many

different types of fundamental studies of the properties of rubbers.

Several important methods for the purification of natural rubber have

been developed [10 to 13].

According to one of these methods [13] crude rubber or latex is di- gested with water under pressure at 190° C to hydrolyze the proteins,

yielding products which are then removed by extraction, together with

the resins and other impurities. The purified material contains about

99.5 percent of rubber hydrocarbon. Rubber purified in this manner

was used in investigations of crystallization [24], specific heat [41],

specific volume and expansivity [42] , heats of combustion [43] , elec- trical properties [48, 4ST], refractive index [57], photoelasticity [58],

and heats of reaction [70]

A different method of purification, calling for digestion of the

proteins in latex with the enzyme trypsin, has also been developed

[12] . Rubber purified by this method has been used in investigations

[11, 12] of gel content, crystallization, and carbon-hydrogen ratio, as well as in studies of the stress-strain behavior of sol and gel rubbers

[33], X-ray diffraction [59 to 61], crystallization [28], and molecular

distillation [10].

Distillation is an important method for the separation and purification of different liquids. An attempt has been made to perform a

molecular distillation of the rubber hydrocarbon [10]. The results were somewhat inconclusive.
6 Miscellaneous Publications, National Bureau of Standards

Synthetic rubbers have been purified by solution in benzene and

precipitation with alcohol. Other methods of preparation of pure

synthetic rubbers are currently under investigation in order to obtain

suitable materials for use in measurements of electrical properties,

infrared absorption, and a number of related properties, as well as

in determinations of the carbon-hydrogen ratio and the nature of the

pyrolytic decomposition products.

5. FORMS OF RUBBER: CRYSTALLIZATION AND OTHER

TRANSITIONS IN RUBBER

When natural rubber or some varieties of synthetic rubber are

stretched, tiny crystals are formed in the rubber, which have an important effect on its mechanical properties. The complete absence of

such crystals in GR-S synthetic rubber is probably responsible for

its relatively low tensile strength. Studies of the formation of crystals

in rubber at low temperatures are necessary for an understanding

of its behavior in use at such temperatures. Many low-temperature

laboratory tests, set up on an arbitrary basis before the significance

of crystallization was realized, proved quite valueless in predicting the

behavior of rubber products exposed to low temperatures over long

periods of time. The fundamental work on crystallization [14 to 25]

conducted over a 10-year period at the National Bureau of Standards

has recently been having a significant bearing in setting up proper

conditions of time and temperature for low-temperature testing.

Besides crystallization, there is another transition evident in natural

rubber at about —70° C. At this transition temperature there is no

abrupt change of volume or heat content, such as occurs during crystallization, but instead the rate of change of these properties with temperature undergoes a large change. For this reason it is called a second-order transition in contrast with a first-order transition, such

as crystallization, in which the volume and heat content do undergo

abrupt changes. All rubbers are found to possess second-order transitions, and to be inextensible at temperatures below that of the secondorder transition. The results of fundamental research [24, 41, 42]

have been of important assistance in understanding the nature of this

transition, and from this understanding it has been possible to ex- plain many effects connected with brittleness and other mechanical

properties not only at low temperatures but also at room temperatures.

6. CONSTANTS AND PROPERTIES OF RUBBER

Investigations of the properties and constants of rubber have been

under way at the National Bureau of Standards for many years. These constants and properties, once determined, have been widely

used by the rubber industry. A compilation [26] of the values of the

physical constants of natural rubber, largely determined at the Bureau, was presented at the International Conference on Rubber Technology held in London in 1938. Much work still remains to be done

in determining similar values for the different synthetic rubbers [6].

Density and Specific Gravity.—The manufacturer of a rubber product buys his crude rubber on a weight basis at so much per pound.

The product itself, however, is usually produced in a particular size,
Rubber Research and Technology 7

occupying a required volume rather than having a required weight.

Consequently, rubber manufacturers are very much interested in

knowing exactly the relation of weight to volume, or in other words,

in having accurate values of the density or specific gravity of the

rubbers. The National Bureau of Standards has made determinations of values of these properties [27, 42, 51], which have found

frequent application in industry.

Mechanical Properties.—The unique property by which one recognizes a rubber is its high extensibility followed by rapid and virtually

complete retraction. Only recently has there been an approach to understanding the molecular mechanism by which this occurs. Considerable research on the mechanical properties of rubber has been

required to furnish the basic data for the new theories. The results show that the extension of rubber is an uncoiling, of long-chain molecules, and that the retractive force arises from thermal motions. The

origin of the retractive force is thus analogous to the origin of the

pressure in a gas in that it also arises from the thermal motion of the

molecules. Obviously, an understanding of the origin of the elasticity

is necessary in predicting which of the thousands of possible polymers

will be extensible synthetic rubbers.

Kecent work [29, 30] on the change of stiffness of natural and synthetic rubbers with change of temperature has furnished information

with applications in this important field. The work also assists in

devising the most suitable type of mechanical tests to apply in the

j routine testing of rubber. Work on the frictional properties of rubI ber [31] , in addition to its obvious application to tires, has also served

I as a guide for other work on the slipperiness of flooring [35].

Thermal and Thermodynamic Properties.—Thermodynamic studies

[41] initiated about 1931 yield information from which predictions

may be made regarding the various chemical reactions in which different rubbers participate, including a determination of the most favorable conditions for the reactions. A summary [40] of the earlier work

on the application of thermodynamics to the chemistry of natural

rubber was presented before the International Rubber Technology

Conference in London in 1938. More recent work has dealt with the

different synthetic rubbers [37, 38].

Electrical Properties.—The wide use of rubber-insulated wire gives

rise to the need for information on the electrical properties of rubber

over a wide range of conditions of temperature, voltage, and frequency.

The designing of rubber compounds to give specified electrical properties is a field of considerable importance to the industry and to the

i government, which is a large purchaser.

The National Bureau of Standards conducted an extensive research

} program [46 to 53] on the electrical properties of natural rubber bee tween 1920 and 1940. The considerable advances made in understand-

- ing these properties led directly to greatly improved compounds for

- electrical insulation in wires and cables and to improved methods of

e test [47,49].

|. More recent work has led to the development of a synthetic rubber

1- compound suitable for undersea cables [45]. This compound and later

1. variations of it found extensive use during the war.

6,i 737127—47 2

!
8 Miscellaneous Publocations, National Bureau of 8tandards

Optical Properties.—It is a generally unrecognized fact that light can be transmitted by rubber in thicknesses up to about one inch. Many

familiar products contain fillers which are responsible for the opacity

generally noted. Studies of the optical properties of rubber [54]

yield important information about the molecular structure and are the basis for several analytical methods. For example, prewar work j on the optical properties of natural rubber [57] pointed the way to the

development of the method curently in use in the synthetic rubber

plants for determining the bound styrene content of GR-S synthetic

rubber, as described above in the section on synthetic rubbers.

X-ray Diffraction.—X-rays furnish a tool by which one can gain

information about the arrangements of the atoms in rubber molecules

and about the nature of crystallization [59 to 61]. During the war

X-ray patterns were used to identify natural rubber in samples which

had been submitted as supposed examples of a synthetic rubber. Some

excellent new types of equipment for this work are now available.

Permeability to Gases.—Rubber is used to confine a gas in airships,

meteorological balloons, inflatable life rafts, inner tubes for pneumatic

tires, and many similar devices. As early as 1917, investigations were begun on the permeability of rubber to different gases [62 to 65].

Properties of Rubber in Solution.—Important information regarding the molecular weight and structural properties of a rubber is obtained from studies of its behavior in solution [66 to 68]. The

work has a directly practical application to rubber cements.

7. CHEMICAL REACTIONS OF RUBBER

Vulcanization of Rubber.—The nature of the vulcanization reaction

by which rubber is converted from a soft plastic material into a product

of commercial utility is of the highest theoretical and practical significance. This reaction, which is the major change in the material

as it passes through a rubber factory, was discovered more than a hundred years ago. Nevertheless, the nature and mechanism of the

reaction are very little understood. The theories which have been

proposed are partial and contradictory. Further progress calls for the

application of new methods in a systematic study of this field. A few | fundamental experimental studies [69 to 71] have been undertaken ] in the past. The advent of synthetic rubbers opens up many new . possible approaches to this problem.

Aging.—-Rubber articles do not usually retain their utility indefi-

' nitely. Laboratory research has demonstrated that the deterioration

is an oxidation caused by the oxygen and ozone of the air. Likewise,

f research has developed antioxidants that increase the useful life of \' rubber products manyfold. With such products it is necessary to devise greatly accelerated aging tests in order to have results available !• in less time than the period of years required for natural aging to produce appreciable deterioration. A long-term testing program

made it possible to investigate the relation of natural aging to ac- , celerated aging [72 to 75].

Effect of Elevated Temperatures on Rubber.—A serious limitation

' in the applications of natural rubber and the synthetic rubbers (with

the exception of the newly developed silicone rubbers) is the fact that f

they cannot be used at elevated temperatures. In use at temperatures J
Rubber Research and Technology 9

much above boiling water, their properties are no longer satisfactory

and deterioration is relatively rapid. In an attempt to understand

why this is so, studies have been made of the evolution of hydrogen

sulfide from rubber at high temperatures [76, 77]. The studies also furnish information regarding the nature of the vulcanization

reaction.

8. CONSTANTS AND PROPERTIES OF MONOMERS AND OTHER

MATERIALS RELATED TO RUBBER

Synthetic rubbers are made by the process of polymerization, which

transforms monomers made up of molecules containing not more than

a few dozen atoms into polymers with molecules each containing

thousands of atoms. The properties and constants of the liquid monomers used in synthetic rubber production are consequently of

considerable interest and importance. In addition, detailed information is required on the compounds used in the production of the monomers and the impurities in them. Both the measurement of these

properties and constants, and the compilation of extensive tables pre- senting the results in most applicable form, require highly specialized

equipment, personnel, and experience. At the beginning of the war

the National Bureau of Standards was in a unique position to render

service to the synthetic rubber program, which required the determination of constants and properties of the monomers and other raw materials. A summary [79] of preliminary values of many of the physical properties of butadiene and styrene was issued by the National

Bureau of Standards in 1942, while the synthetic rubber plants were

still being designed and constructed. Work of this sort previously

done on isoprene [84, 102, 103], the monomer related to natural rubber, was extended to the materials related to the synthetics. Thermal and

thermodynamic properties [85 to 101] were stressed especially, and

the results furnish useful information regarding reactions and most

favorable conditions for production of the raw materials and for

their polymerization to form the corresponding rubbers.

An extensive program of work on the collection, analysis, calculation, and compilation of data on the properties of hydrocarbons was

begun at the National Bureau of Standards in 1942 as Project 44 of

the American Petroleum Institute. This has resulted in the issuance

of about 400 pages of tables [78] presenting selected self-consistent

"best" values of properties, and in the issuance of almost 700 graphs

showing infrared and ultraviolet spectra. As different sections of

these tables and spectrograms have been issued they have been dis- tributed by the Office of Rubber Reserve to those concerned with the

production of synthetic rubber. They were declassified at the beginning of 1946 and made generally available to the public.

Analytical Methods.—The purity of butadiene, styrene, and other monomers used in synthetic rubber production is of very great importance in determining the rate of polymerization. Consequently, ex- tensive development work has been done at the Bureau on analytical

methods for these materials. Much attention, for example, has been

given to the determination of freezing points as a method of measuring

the purity of these liquids. This method [80] is one of the most

satisfactory of those in use for determining the purity, but requires
10 Miscellaneous Publications, National Bureau of Standards

considerable care and precision. In the case of styrene the freezingpoint method is the one used in routine testing in the plants. With

butadiene it is used as a referee method in cases of doubt.

The mass spectrometer has only recently been applied to the analysis

of liquids and gases. It is particularly suitable for the hydrocarbons

and related materials used in the production of the synthetic rubbers.

The National Bureau of Standards has had one of the few instruments

of this type that could be largely devoted to the synthetic rubber

program [81]. The analyses often involve mixtures too complex for

investigation by any other means.

Staff members of the National Bureau of Standards have served on

the committees of the Office of Eubber Reserve, which were responsible

for establishing specifications and test methods for butadiene, styrene,

and related materials.

Densities and Other Simple Physical Properties.—The National

Bureau of Standards has had long experience in making accurate measurements of densities and in compiling tables of physical properties of hydrocarbons, which have become standards in the petroleum

industry. At the beginning of the synthetic rubber program there was need for such data and tables on butadiene and other hydrocarbons

related to the production of synthetic rubber. It was, therefore,

logical for the Rubber Reserve Co. to request the preparation of a- standard table [83] of values of densities of the 11 hydrocarbons most

important in the production of butadiene and another table [82] of

the volume correction factors of mixtures of these hydrocarbons.

These tables have been utilized very extensively by the butadiene producers and the operators of the polymerization plants.

Thermodynamic Properties.—The thermodynamic properties of monomers and related materials are important in the production of

synthetic rubber for ascertaining the behavior of these materials

under the different conditions of pressure and temperature that arise

in the course of production and use. Of even greater importance per- haps is the fact that they also yield useful information regarding the

extent of their chemical reactions and the prediction of the most

favorable conditions for conducting these reactions. The reactions

include both those utilized in the production of the monomers from

the raw materials and those utilized in the polymerization of the monomers to produce the rubbers. The calculation of thermodynamic

properties requires accurate experimental data on specific heats and

heats of combustion.

The National Bureau of Standards, which had already obtained

very reliable data on thermodynamic properties of different materials

before the war, has recently directed special efforts to the materials

important in the synthetic rubber program. The work on butadiene

[86, 91, 95, 98, 100], for example, is one of the most complete investigations of thermal and thermodynamic properties ever made on a hydrocarbon. Materials important in the production of butadiene

are the butenes [85, 88, 90, 91, 98, 101], the acetylenes [94], and the

paraffins [96, 97]. Isobutene, one of the butenes studied, is also the

major component of GR-I synthetic rubber, often called Butyl rubber.

Isoprene [84, 102, 103], the monomer related to natural rubber, also appears as the minor component of GR-I.
Rubber Research and Technology 11

The thermodynamic properties of styrene, the minor component

of GR-S synthetic rubber, have also been studied [98 to 100]. In addition, similar studies have been made on materials important in the

production of styrene, namely ethylene [86, 88, 90], benzene [87, 99],

and the alkylbenzenes [87, 89, 99], especially ethylbenzene [92, 93,

98]. The tables [78] compiled as part of Research Project 44 of the

American Petroleum Institute already mentioned, contain extensive

data on thermodynamic properties.

9. CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF RUBBER

Before 1920, chemical analysis was widely used to ensure that lowcost adulterants were not used in rubber products [104 to 121]. For

many general purposes it was later supplanted by performance re- quirements and physical tests, but was retained where the composition, rather than the physical behavior, was of importance. Chemical analysis of raw synthetic rubber has been of assistance in maintaining uniformity of production. The National Bureau of Standards has developed and investigated a number of new methods for

the Office of Rubber Reserve. Chemical analysis has also come into recent use in evaluating raw natural rubber and in determining rela- tive amounts of natural and synthetic rubbers.

10. PHYSICAL TESTING OF RUBBER

As the most important property of a rubber is usually its ability to stretch and retract, the tests most commonly made on rubber* are tests of its tensile properties. The quality of a rubber product is often

judged by measurements of tensile strength, ultimate elongation, and

the force required for a given elongation.

A great many of the methods and principles now used in American

industrial laboratories for the physical testing of rubber originated

in research at the National Bureau of Standards many years ago. The first principles were laid down in early papers [136 to 138]

presented before international congresses and developed more fully

in NBS Circular C38, The Testing of Rubber Goods [134], of which

five editions were required, beginning in 1912. Largely on the basis

of investigations described in this publication, American practice

has been to use flat dumbbell specimens instead of the ring specimens

favored by the Europeans. From 1927-29 the Rubber Manufacturers Association, the Rubber Division of the American Chemical

Society, and a number of rubber companies jointly supported work

at the National Bureau of Standards that led to the formulation of

recommended procedures and practices [131 to 133] in physical test- ing now used almost universally in this country. A summary of

modern practices in the physical testing of rubber was written by a member of the Rubber Section as a portion of the French Encyclopedia of Rubber Technology [125].

Additional work in this field became necessary with the advent of

synthetic rubber. In the first place, redeterminations of temperature coefficients, standard deviations of testing, and other quantities were required by the new materials. In the second place, closer control of certain variables in physical testing was found to be necessary
12 Miscellaneous Publications, National Bureau of Standards

in controlling the production of a uniform synthetic rubber. Finally,

the very fact that 15 Government-owned plants were required to produce rubber to meet the same specifications called for testing of

higher accuracy than had heretofore been necessary. Interlaboratory

cross-tests are being made regularly. As a result of the standardization of procedures, in which the National Bureau of Standards has

taken a leading part, the precision and accuracy of rubber testing in

this country have been notably improved.

Prior to 1942 the rubber industry could agree on no single test for j determining the plastic properties of unyulcanized natural rubber.

In order to control the production of synthetic rubber, it was essential to have a reliable method for measuring this property. The Rubber

Reserve Co. and its agents, the companies operating the synthetic

rubber plants, decided to employ the Mooney viscometer for this

purpose. However, as manufactured at that time, it did not permit

the reproducibility required to control the production of a uniform

synthetic rubber. Responsibility for improvements in the design of

the viscometer and for the standardization of test procedures was

delegated to the National Bureau of Standards. As a result of these

investigations, a viscometer of improved design was developed and

is currently being manufactured. It has now become the most

common means of measuring plastic properties in the rubber industry.

Recommended procedures and factors affecting the results obtained

m measurements with this viscometer have been described in a recent publication [122].

Among other publications relating to physical testing may be noted an abrasion test machine [130] in rather widespread use, a compression cutting test [126], and a study of the use of the Shore Durometer

[123].

11. RUBEER PRODUCTS

Tires.—There are no completely satisfactory methods of predicting

the life of tires under service conditions. Each of the larger tire

( manufacturers maintains test fleets and conducts road tests, which \ are notably expensive, time-consuming, and lacking in reproducibility. There is an urgent need for the development of methods by - which the different factors in tire failure can be isolated and tested

separately.

The endurance-test wheel for the testing of tires in the laboratory was pioneered at the National Bureau of Standards many years ago

[144] and has been generally adopted by industry. Tires are run

to failure under abnormally severe conditions of load, inflation, speed, :': and temperature. The type of failure desired can often be -predeter- t mined by the conditions of the test. The use of this test has screened 1 out many defective compounds and type^ of construction, and reduced

very considerably the amount of road testing necessary. Research on synthetic rubber tires has led to the development of a new method

[139] for measuring tread wear during road tests by repeated weighing of the tire and wheel, and to a method of measuring internal ° temperatures in tires. Reclaimed Rubber.—In normal times about one-third of the

rubber in manufactured products in this country is reclaimed and

used again. The processes used were developed by the industry
Rubber Research and Technology 13

in the early 1900's and have not been notably altered since then.

It seems likely that systematic research yielding a better understanding of the nature of' the process would lead to new and improved

methods. The reclaiming of synthetic rubbers has recently become

a subject of importance. Work at the National Bureau of Standards

in this important field has been limited for the most part to compilation of published information [119]. Although more than 15 years

old, this publication is still in considerable demand, since it is almost

the only printed source of specific information about reclaiming

practices.

Coated Fabrics and Thin FUms.—During both World Wars the

military services called upon the National Bureau of Standards for

special work on balloons. pontoons,.liferafts. waterproofed goods, and

similar rubber products. The work has continued steadily through

the intervening years [150 to 153].

Broke Lining.—Varying amounts of rubber are contained in dif- ferent types of brake linings. Methods of test and a special testing

machine [155] have been developed for evaluating brake lining, es- pecially for Government purchase.

Other Rubber Products.—Work on other rubber products has in- cluded investigations on such varied items as denture rubbers [159],

garden hose [167]. sponge rubber [164], jar rings used in canning

[158], floor covering [160, 165], binders for foundry cores [166],

and rubber cements [162].

12. SPECIFICATIONS FOR RUBBER GOODS

Directory of Specifications.—-Specifications are used as a basis of

purchase by many different organizations, both governmental and

private. The 1.311 page National Directory of Commodity Specifications [169] prepared at the National Bureau of Standards de- votes 25 pages to specifications on rubber products. Each standard

or specification is listed by title, designating number, and sponsoring

organization. A summary is given of the technical characteristics, scope, and special applications.

Federal Specifications.—Virtually all the rubber products used by

the Federal Government from truck tires to surgeons' gloves are purchased under specifications that set standards of quality, performance, and dimensions. The savings in decreased cost and increased

serviceability of the rubber products are estimated in millions of

dollars. Members of the staff of the National Bureau of Standards

participate in drawing up large numbers of these Federal Specifications. The general methods of physical testing and chemical analysis

for rubber goods are described in Specifications ZZ-R-601a [170],

which was prepared by the staff members.

13. GENERAL INFORMATION ON RUBBER

In addition to its work for other Government agencies, the National

Bureau of Standards is required ; 'to supply available information to the public, upon request, in the fields of physics, chemistry, and engineering." Individuals and small business firms constantly are asking

for assistance. They are furnished information on specific topics
14 Miscellaneous Publications, National Bureau of Standards

relating; to rubber or given reference to other sources of information

[174].'

III. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF NBS PUBLICATIONS

The publications of the National Bureau of Standards are intended

to record those phases of activity that are of general interest and

permanent value. However, there are also many reports of limited

interest that are submitted to other Government agencies and given

circulation at the discretion of those agencies. For example, as al- ready mentioned, more than 100 extensive mimeographed reports of

work on synthetic rubber have been submitted to the Office of Rubber

Reserve and circulated to participants in the national synthetic rubber

program, but have not as yet been released for general distribution.

Some of them have already been rewritten and issued in the form of

publications, while others will probably be published later. This section lists 174 publications, excluding unpublished reports,

by members of the staff of the National Bureau of Standards under the same headings used in the preceding section. The titles of the publications show the scope of its research and technological investigations on the natural and synthetic rubbers and related materials.

i. NATURAL RUBBER: CRUDE RUBBER PRODUCTION, EVALUATION,

AND TESTING

[1] "Brazil's Research for Increased Rubber Production." Norman Bekkedahl.

Scientific Monthly 61, 199 (1945).

[2] "New Brazilian Rubber Laboratory in the Amazon Valley." Norman

Bekkedahl and Fredrick L. Downs. Ind. Eng. Chem. Anal. Ed. 17, 459

(1945).

[3] "Rubber Research in Tropical Brazil." Norman Bekkedahl. India Rubber World 112, 451 (1945).

[4] "Pa-Agronomico Method for Coagulating Rubbers." Felisberto C. de

Camargo and Norman Bekkedahl. India Rubber World 109, 473 (1944).

[5] "Some Vulcanization Tests of Guayule Rubber." David Spence and C. E. Boone. Tech. Pap. BS 22, 1 (1927) T353.

2. SYNTHETIC RUBBERS : PRODUCTION AND TESTING

[6] "Synthetic Rubbers: A Review of Their Compositions, Properties, and

Uses." Lawrence A. Wood. NBS Circular C427 (1940). Rubber Chem.

Tech. 13, 861 (1940). India Rubber World 102, No. 4, 33 (1940).

[7] "The Examination of Materials Claimed to be Synthetic Rubber." Archi- bald T. McPherson. India Rubber World 101, No. 4, 43 (1940)

.

3. LATEX

[8] "Measurement of the pH of Latex by the Antimony Electrode." India Rubber World 87, 45 (1932)

.

[9] "Rubber Latex." NBS Letter Circular LC321 (1932)

.

4. PURIFICATION OF RUBBER

[10] "Behavior of Rubber Hydrocarbon in a Molecular Still." W. Harold

Smith and Henry J. Wing. J. Research NBS 22, 529 (1939). RP1202.

Rubber Chem. Tech. 12, 789 (1939).

[11] "Ether-Insoluble or Gel Rubber Hydrocarbon, Its Solution, Crystallization,

and Properties." W. H. Smith, and C. P. Saylor. J. Research NBS 13, 453 (1934) RP719. Rubber Chem. Tech. 8, 214 (1935 ). [12] "The Preparation and Crystallization of Pure Ether-Soluble Rubber Hydrocarbon: Composition, Melting Point, and Optical Properties." W. H.

Smith, C. P. Saylor, and H. J. Wing. BS J. Research 10, 479 (1933)

RP544. Rubber Chem. Tech. 6, 351 (1933).
Rubber Research and Technology 15

[13] "A Method for the Purification of Rubber and Properties of Purified Rubber." A. T. McPherson. BS J. Research 8, 751 (1932) RP449, Rubber

Age 31, 477 (1932) . Rubber Chem. Tech. 5, 523 (1932 )

.

5. FORMS OF RUBBER : CRYSTALLIZATION AND OTHER TRANSITIONS

I [14] "Crystallization Phenomena in Natural and Synthetic Rubbers." Lawrence

A. Wood, Chapter II in book Advances in Colloid Science, vol. II, Rubber. Edited by H. Mark and G. S. Whitby. Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York, N. Y. (1946).

[15] "Crystallization of Unvulcanized Rubber at Different Temperatures." Lawrence A. Wood and Norman Bekkedahl. J. Applied Physics 17, 362

(1946). J. Research NBS 36, 489 (1946) RP1718.

[16] "Effect of Pressure on the Melting of Crystalline Rubber." Lawrence A. Wood, Norman Bekkedahl, and Ralph E. Gibson. J. Research NBS 35, 375 (1945) RP1677. J. Chem. Physics 13, 475 (1945). Reprinted in Rubber Chem. Tech. 19, 546 (1946).

[17] "The Beta-Anomaly of Ruhemann and Simon in Rubber." Lawrence A. Wood. t J. Chem. Phys. 10, 408 (1942).

[18] "Crystallization of Vulcanized Rubber." Norman Bekkedahl and Lawrence

A. Wood. Ind. Eng. Chem. 33, 381 (1941). Rubber Chem. Tech. 14, 347 (1941).

[19] "Influence of the Temperature of Crystallization on the Melting of Crystalline Rubber." Norman Bekkedahl and Lawrence A. Wood. J. Chem.

Phys. 9, 193 (1941). Rubber Chem. Tech. 14, 544 (1941).

[20] "Application of the Interferometer to the Measurement of Dimensional

Changes in Rubber." Lawrence A. Wood, Norman Bekkedahl, and

Chauncey G. Peters. J. Research NBS 23, 571 (1939) RP1253. Rubber

Chem. Tech. 13, 290 (1940).

[21] "Optical and Dimensional Changes Which Accompany the Freezing and

Melting of Hevea Rubber." W. Harold Smith and Charles Proffer

Saylor. J. Research NBS 21, 257 (1938) RP1129. Rubber Chem. Tech.

12, 18 (1939).

[22] "Secondary Increase of Length of Stretched, Chilled Rubber." W. Harold

Smith and Charles Proffer Saylor. Science 85, 204 (1937)

.

{23] "Change of Volume of Rubber on Stretching. Effects of Time, Elongation

and Temperature." William L. Holt and Archibald T. McPherson. J. Research NBS 17, 657 (1936) RP936. Rubber Chem. Tech. 10, 412

(1937).

[24] "Forms of Rubber as Indicated by the Temperature Volume Relationship."

Norman Bekkedahl. J. Research NBS 13, 411 (1934) RP717. Rubber

Chem. Tech 8, 5 (1935).

[25] "Crystalline Rubber Hydrocarbon." E. W. Washburn. Physical Rev. 38, 1790 (1931). Rubber Chem. Tech. 5, 119 (1932).

6. CONSTANTS AND PROPERTIES OF RUBBER - [26] "Values of the Physical Constants of Rubber." Lawrence A. Wood. Proceedings of the Rubber Technology Conference, p. 933 (Institution of the Rubber Industry, London) 1938. Rubber Chem. Tech. 12, 130 (1939).

(A) DENSITY AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY

![27] "The Measurement of Densities of Synthetic Rubbers." Lawrence A. Wood, Norman Bekkedahl, and Frank L. Roth. J. Research NBS 29, 391 (1942) RP1507. Ind. Eng. Chem. 34, 1291 (1942). Rubber Chem.

Tech. 16, 244 (1943).

[28] "Comparison Between the Observed Density of Crystalline Rubber and the Density Calculated From X-Ray Data." W. H. Smith and Nancy P. Hanna. J. Research NBS 27, 229 (1941) RP1416. Rubber Chem. Tech. 15,265 (1942).

(B) MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

[29] "Stress-Temperature Relations in a Pure-Gum Vulcanizate of Natural

Rubber." Lawrence A. Wood and Frank L. Roth. J. Applied Physics

15, 781 (1944). Rubber Chem. Tech. 17, 367 (1944)

.
16 Miscellaneous Publications, National Bureau of Standards

[30] "Some Relations Between Stress, Strain, and Temperature in a Pure-Gum

Vulcanizate of GR-S Synthetic Rubber." Frank L. Roth and Lawrence

A. Wood. J. Applied Physics 15, 749 (1944). Rubber Chem. Tech. 17,

• 353 (1944).

[31] "Frictional Properties of Rubber." Frank L. Roth, Raymond L. Driscoll,

and William L. Holt. J. Research NBS 28, 439 (1942) RP1463. Rubber

Chem. Tech. 16, 155 (1943).

[32] "Tensile Properties of Rubber Compounds at High Rates of Stretch." Frank L. Roth and William L. Holt. J. Research NBS 23, 603 (1939)

RP1256. Rubber Chem. Tech. 13, 348 (1940).

[33] "Vulcanization and Stress-Strain Behavior of Sol, Gel, and Total Rubber

Hydrocarbon." W. Harold Smith and W. L. Holt. J. Research NBS 13, 465 (1934) RP720. Rubber Chem. Tech. 8, 210 (1935).

[34] "Behavior of Rubber Under Repeated Stresses." W. L. Holt. Ind. Eng.

Chem. 23, 1471 (1931). Rubber Chem. Tech. 5. 79 (1932).

[35] "A Method of Measuring Frictional Coefficients of Walkway Materials." R. S. Hunter. BS J. Research 5, 329 (1930) RP204.

[36] "Tensile Properties of Soft Rubber Compounds at Temperatures Ranging

from —70° O. to +147° C." R. F. Tener, S. S. Kingsbury, and W. L. Holt. Tech. Pap. BS 22, 367 (1927-28) T364.

(C) THERMAL AND THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES

[37] "Specific Heat and Increases of Entropy and Enthalpy of the Synthetic

Rubber GR-S From 0° to 330° K." Robert D. Rands, Jr., W. Julian Ferguson, and John L. Prather. J. Research NBS 33, 63 (1944) RP1595.

[38] "Specific Heat of the Synthetic Rubber Hycar OR from 15° to 340° K." N. Bekkedahl and R. B. Scott. J. Research NBS 29, 87 (1942) RP1487.

Rubber Chem. Tech. 16, 310 (1943)

.

[39] "An Improved Wiegand Rubber Pendulum." Lawrence A. Wood and Nor- man Bekkedahl. Rev. Sci. Instruments 10, 51 (1939). Rubber Chem.

Tech. 12, 529 (1939).

[40] "Application of Thermodynamics to the Chemistry of Rubber." Norman

Bekkedahl. Proceedings Rubber Technology Conference, p. 223. Insti- tution of the Rubber Industry, London (1938). Rubber Chem. Tech. 12, 150 (1939).

[41] "Heat Capacity Entropy, and Free Energy of Rubber Hydrocarbon." Nor- man Bekkedahl and Harry Matheson. J. Research NBS 15, 503 (1935)

RP844. Rubber Chem. Tech. 9, 264 (1936).

[42] "Specific Volume, Compressibility, and Volume Thermal Expansivity of Rubber- Sulphur Compounds." A. H. Scott. J. Research NBS 14, 99

(1935) RP760. Rubber Chem. Tech. 8, 401 (1935).

[43] "Heats of Combustion of Rubber and Rubber-Sulfur Compounds." R. S. Jessup and A. D. Oummings. J. Research NBS 13, 357 (1934) RP713.

Rubber Chem. Tech. 8, 44 (1935).

[44] "Tentative Method of Test for Comparing the Thermal Conductivity of

Solid Electrical Insulating Materials." Proc. Am. Soc. Testing Materials 30, part I, 224 (1930).

(D) ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES

[45] "Electrical and Mechanical Properties of the System Buna S-Gilsonite.M Alan H. Selker, Arnold H. Scott, and Archibald T. McPherson. J. Research NBS 31, 141 (1943) RP1554.

[46] "Dielectric Constant, Power Factor, and Conductivity of the System Rubber-Calcium Carbonate." Arnold H. Scott and Archibald T. McPherson.

J. Research NBS 28, 279 (1942) RP1457. Rubber Chem. Tech. 15, 879

(1942).

[47] "The Electrical Behavior of Rubber." Archibald T. McPherson. Chapter

XV in book Chemistry and Technology of Rubber, edited by C. C. Davis

and J. T. Blake, Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New York, N. Y.

(1937).

* [48] "Effect of Pressure on the Dielectric Constant, Power Factor and Conductivity of Rubber-Sulfur Compounds." Arnold H. Scott. J. Research

NBS 15, 13 (1935) RP806.
Rubber Research and Technology 17

[49] "Effect of Temperature and Frequency on the Dielectric Constant, Power

Factor, and Conductivity of Compounds of Purified Rubber and Sulfur." A. H. Scott, A. T. McPherson, and H. L. Curtis. BS J. Research 11, 173

(1933) RP585. Rubber Chem. Tech. 7, 342 (1984).

[50] "Change of Electrical Properties of Rubber and Gutta-Percha During Stor- age Under Water." Harvey L. Curtis and Arnold H. Scott. RS J. Research 5, 539 (1930) RP213. Rubber Chem. Tech. 4, 39 (1931).

[51] "Density and Electrical Properties of the System, Rubber-Sulfur." H. L.

Curtis, A. T. McPherson, and A. H. Scott. BS Sci. Pap. 22, 383 (1927-

28) S560.

[52] "Carbon Black in Rubber Insulating Compounds." H. L. Curtis and A. T. McPherson. Ind. Eng. Chem. 22, 1259 (1930).

[53] "Dielectric Constant, Power Factor, and Resistivity of Rubber and Gutta- percha." H. L. Curtis and A. T. McPherson. Tech. Pap. BS19, 669

(1924-25) T299.

(E) OPTICAL PROPERTIES

[54] "The Optical Properties of Rubber." Lawrence A. Wood. J. Applied Phys.

12, 119 (1941). Rubber Chem. Tech. 15, 23 (1942).

[55] "Photoelastic Determination of Stresses Around a Circular Inclusion in Rubber." W. E. Thibodeau and L. A. Wood. J. Research NBS 20, 393

(1938) RP1083.

[56] "Infrared Absorption Spectra of Plant and Animal Tissue and Various

Other Substances." R. Stair and W. W. Coblentz. J. Research NBS 15, 295 (1935) RP830.

[57] "Refractive Index of Rubber." A. T. McPherson and A. D. Cummings.

J. Research NBS 14, 553 (1935) RP 786. Rubber Chem. Tech. 8, 421

(1935).

[58] "Photoelastic Properties of Soft Vulcanized Rubber." W. E. Thibodeau

and A. T. McPherson. J. Research NBS 13, 887 (1934) RP751. Rubber

Chem. Tech. 8, 183 (1935).

(F) X-RAY DIFFRACTION

[59] "X-Ray Diffraction Patterns of Hevea, Manihot, and Other Rubbers." George L. Clark, Siegfried T. Gross, and W. Harold Smith. J. Research

NBS 23, 1 (1939) RP1218. Rubber Chem. Tech. 13, 42 (1940).

[60] "X-Ray Diffraction Patterns of Crystalline Sol Rubber Prepared from

Ethereal Solution." G. L. Clark, S. T. Gross, and W. H. Smith. J. Research NBS 22, 105 (1939) RP1170. Rubber Chem. Tech. 12, 482 (1939).

[61] X-Ray Diffraction Patterns of Sol, Gel, and Total Rubber When Stretched and When Chrystallized by Freezing and From Solutions." G. L. Clark,

Enno Wolthuis, and W. H. Smith. J. Research NBS 19, 479 (1937)

RP1039. Rubber Age (N. Y.) 42, 35 (1937). Rubber Chem. Tech. 11, 32 (1938).

(G) PERMEABILITY TO GASES

[62] "Permeability of Elastic Polymers to Hydrogen." Theron P. Sager. J. Research NBS 25, 309 (1940) RP 1327.

[63] "Permeability of Neoprene to Gases." Theron P. Sager and Max Sucher.

J. Research NBS 22, 71 (1939) RP1166. Rubber Chem. Tech. 12, 875

(1939) . [64] "Permeability of Synthetic Film-Forming Materials to Hydrogen." T. P. Sager. J. Research NBS 13, 879 (1934) RP750.

[65] "Permeability of Rubber to Gases." J. D. Edwards and S. F. Pickering. Sci. Pap. BS 16, 327 (1920) S387.

(H) PROPERTIES OF RUBBER IN SOLUTION

[66] "Consistency Measurements of Rubber-Benzene Solutions." (in German).

W. Herschel and R. Bulkley. Kolloid-Zeits. 39,291 (1926).

[67] "Measurement of Consistency as Applied to Rubber-Benzene Solutions." W. H. Herschel and R. Bulkley. Proc. A. S. T. M. 26, part II, 621 (1926)

[68] "Consistency of Rubber-Benzene Solutions." Winslow H. Herschel. Ind„

Eng. Chem. 16, 927. (1924)
18 Miscellaneous Publications, National Bureau of Standards

7. CHEMICAL REACTIONS OF RUBBER

(A) VULCANIZATION

[69] "Vulcanization of GR-S bv the Peachev Process.'" Archibald T. McPherson.

Rubber Age 59, 323 (1946).

[70] "Heats of Reaction of the System : Rubber-Sulfur." A. T. McPherson and

N. Bekkedahl. J. Research NBS 14, 601 (1935) RP791. Ind. Eng. Chem.

27, 597 (1935). Rubber Chem. Tech. 8, 456 (1935).

[71] "The Alternating Behavior of Fatty Acids in Rubber." W. H. Smith and

C. E. Boone. Ind. Eng. Chem. 18, 398 (1926)

.

(B) AGING

[72] "Accelerated Aging Tests for Rubber, Paper, and Weighted Silk." W. E.

Einley. International Association for Testing Materials. London Congress, 1937, p. 509. [73] "Effect of Antioxidants on the Natural and the Accelerated Aging of Rubber." R. F. Tener and W. L. Holt. J. Research NBS 14, 667 (1935)

RP795.

[74] "Aging of Soft Rubber Goods." R. F. Tener, W. H. Smith, and W. L. Holt. Tech. Pap. BS 21, 353 (1926-27) T342.

[75] "The Aging Properties of Rubber Bands in Storage." C. E. Boone. India

Rubber World 76, 317 (1927).

(C) EFFECTS OF ELEVATED TEMPERATUBES ON RUBBER

[76] "Influence of Temperature on the Evolution of Hydrogen Sulfide from

Vulcanized Rubber." A. D. Cummings. BS J. Research 9, 163 (1932)

RP464. Rubber Chem. Tech. 6, 46 (1933).

£77] "Evolution of Hydrogen Sulfide from Vulcanized Rubber." Edward

Wolesensky. BS J. Research 4, 501 (1930) RP162. Rubber Chem.

Tech 3, 386 (1930).

8. CONSTANTS AND PROPERTIES OF MONOMERS AND OTHER

MATERIALS RELATED TO RUBBER

[78] "Tables of Selected Values of Properties of Hydrocarbons." American

Petroleum Institute Research Project 44 at the National Bureau of Standards.

[79] "Some Physical Properties of Butadiene and Styrene." Lawrence A. Wood

and Catherine F. Higgins. NBS Letter Circular LC710 (1942). India

Rubber World 107, 475 (1943). Petroleum Refiner 22, 89 (1943).

(A) ANALYTICAL METHODS

180] "Determination of the Purity of Hydrocarbons by Measurement of Freezing Points." Augustus R. Glasgow, Jr., Anton J. Streiff, and Frederick

D. Rossini. J. Research NBS 35, 355 (1945) RP 1676. [81] "Mass Spectrometric Analyses of Hydrocarbon and Gas Mixtures." A. Keith Brewer and Vemon H. Dibeler. J. Research NBS 35, 125 (1945)

RP1664.

(B) DENSITIES AND OTHER SIMPLE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

182] "Volume Correction Factors for CA Hydrocarbon Mixtures." C. S. Cragoe.

NBS Letter Circular LC757 (1944).

183] "Liquid Densities of Eleven Hydrocarbons Found in Commercial d Mixtures." C. S. Cragoe. NBS Letter Circular LC736 (1943). [84] "Some Physical Properties of Isoprene." Norman Bekkedahl, Lawrence

A. Wood, and Mieczyslaw Wojciechowski. J. Research NBS 17, 883

(1936) RP951. Rubber Chem. Tech. 10, 451 (1937). India Rubber J.

93', 648 (1937).

(C) THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES

185] "Equilibrium Constants of Some Reactions Involved in the Production of 1,3-Butadiene." Ferdinand G. Brickwedde, Morris Moskow, and John

G. Aston. J. Research NBS 37, 263 (1946) RP1747.
Rubber Research and Technology 19

[86] "Heat Content, Free-Energy Function, Entropy, and Heat Capacity of Ethylene and the four Butenes to 1,500° K." J. E. Kilpatrick and K. S. Pitzer. J. Research NBS 37, 163 (1946) RP1738.

[87] "Heats, Equilibrium Constants, and Free Energies of Formation of the

Alkyl benzenes." W. J. Taylor, D. D. Wagman, Mary G. Williams, K. S. Pitzer, and F. D. Rossini. J. Research NBS 37, 95 (1946) RP1732.

[88] "Heats, Equilibrium Constants, and Free Energies of Formation of the

Monoolefin Hydrocarbons." J. E. Kilpatrick, E. J. Prosen, K. S. Pitzei\

and F. D. Rossini. J. Research NBS 36, 559 (1946) RP1722.

[89] "Heats of Combustion and Formation at 25° C of the Alkylbenzenes

Through C10H14 and of the Higher Normal Monoalkylbenzenes." E. J. Prosen, W. H. Johnson, and F. D. Rossini. J. Research NBS 36, 455

(1946) RP1714.

[90] "Heats of Formation, Hydrogenation, and Combustion of the Monoolefin

Hydrocarbons Through the Hexenes, and of the Higher 1-Alkenes in the Gaseous State at 25° C." E. J. Prosen and F. D. Rossini. J. Research

NBS 36, 269 (1946) RP1702.

[91] "Thermodynamic Properties of Gaseous 1,3-Butadiene and the Normal

Butenes above 25° C." John G. Aston, George Szasz, Harold W. Wooley,

and Ferdinand G. Brickwedde. J. Chem. Physics 14, 67 (1946).

[92] "Thermodynamic Properties of Ethylbenzene Vapor from 300° to 1,500° K." F. G. Brickwedde, M. Moskow, and R. B. Scott. J. Chem. Physics

13, 547 (1945).

[93] "Thermodynamic Properties of Solid and Liquid Ethylbenzene from 0° to 300° K." Russell B. Scott and Ferdinand G. Brickwedde. J. Research NBS 35, 501 (1945) RP1684.

[94] "Heats, Equilibrium Constants, and Free Energies of Formation of the

Acetylene Hydrocarbons Through the Pentynes, to 1500° K." D. D. Wagman, J. E. Kilpatrick, K. S. Pitzer, and F. D. Rossini. J. Researcli NBS 35. 467 (1945) RP1682.

[95] "Thermodynamic Properties of 1, 3-Butadiene in the Solid, Liquid, and

Vapor States." Russell B. Scott, Cyril H. Meyers, Robert D. Rands,

Jr., Ferdinand G. Brickwedde, and Norman Bekkedahl. J. Research

NBS 35, 39 (1945) RP1661.

[96] "Heats and Free Energies of Formation of the Paraffin Hydrocarbons in the Gaseous State to 1500° K." E. J. Prosen, K. S. Pitzer, and F. D.

Rossini. J. Research NBS 34, 403 (1945) RP1650.

[97] "Heats of Combustion and Formation of the Paraffin Hydrocarbons at

25° C." E. J. Prosen and F. D. Rossini. J. Research NBS 34, 263 (1945)

RP1642.

[98] "Specific Heats of Gaseous 1, 3-Butadiene, Isobutene, Styrene, and Ethylbenzene." Russell B. Scott and Jane W. Mellors. J. Research NBS

34, 243 (1945) RP1640.

[99] "Heats of Combustion of Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl-Benzene, o-Xylene,

m-Xylene, p-Xylene, n-Propylbenzene, and Styrene." Edward J. Prosen, Roger Gilmont, and Frederick D. Rossini. J. Research NBS 34, 65

(1945) RP1629.

[100] "Heats of Formation and Combustion of 1, 3-Butadiene and Styrene."

Edward J. Prosen and Frederick D. Rossini. J. Research NBS 34, 59

(1945) RP1628.

;101] "Thermodynamic Properties of cis-2-Butene from 15° to 1,500° K." Russell B. Scott, W. Julian Ferguson, and Ferdinand G. Brickwedde. J. Research NBS 33, 1 (1944) RP1592.

102] "Heat of Combustion of Isoprene." Ralph S. Jessup. J. Research NBS

20, 589 (1938) RP1093.

'103] "Entropy of Isoprene from Heat-Capacity Measurements." Norman Bek- kedahl and Lawrence A. Wood. J. Research NBS 19, 551 (1937) RP1044.

9. CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF RUBBER

]104] "Errors in Gas Analysis Arising from Loss of Gas by Solution in Rubber

Connections and Stopcock Lubricant." J. R. Branham. BS. J. Research 12, 353 (1934) RP661.

105] "Decomposition of Barium Sulfate by Solutions of Sodium Carbonate."

E. Wolesensky. Ind. Eng. Chem. Anal. Ed. 1, 29 (1929).
20 Miscellaneous Publications, National Bureau of Standards

[106] "Determination of Sulfur in Rubber by the Perchloric Acid Method." E. Wolesensky. Ind. Eng. Chem. 20, 1244 (1928). Rubber Chem. Tech. 2, 45 (1929).

{107] "Determination of Rubber and Inorganic Materials in Soft Rubber Goods."

R. T. Mease and N. P. Hanna. Ind. Eng. Chem. 17, 161 (1925).

[108] "Determination of Total Sulfur in Rubber Goods." S. Collier, M. Levin,

and R. T. Mease. Ind. Eng. Chem 15, 953 (1923)

.

[109] "An Improved Method for the Determination of Total Sulfur in Rubber

Goods." M. Levin and S. Collier. Rubber Age and Tire News 9, 47

(1921).

[110] "Determination of Antimony in Rubber Goods." S. Collier, M. Levin,

and J. A. Scherrer, Rubber Age and Tire News 8, 104 (1920). India

Rubber J. 64, 580 (1921).

£111] "Detection of Glue in Rubber Goods." S. W. Epstein and W. E. Lange.

India Rubber World 61, 216 (1920). Rubber Age and Tire News 6, 109 (1919).

1112] "Determination of Cellulose in Rubber Goods." S. W. Epstein and R. L. Moore. Tech. Pap. BS 13, (1920) T154. Rubber Age and Tire News

6,289 (1920).

[113] "Extraction of Rubber Goods." S. W. Epstein and B. L. Gonyo. Tech. Pap. BS 13 (1919-20) T162. Rubber Age and Tire News 6, 445 (1920).

[114] "Determination of Free Carbon in Rubber Goods." A. H. Smith and S. W.

Epstein. Tech. Pap. BS 12, (1919) T136. J. Ind. Eng. Chem. 11, 33

(1919).

[115] "Direct Determination of India Rubber by the Nitrosite Method." J. B. Tuttle and L. Yurow. Tech. Pap. BS 13, (1919-20) T145.

£116] "Determination of Barium Carbonate and Barium Sulphate in Vulcanized

Rubber Goods." J. B. Tuttle, Tech. Pap. BS 7 (1916-17) T64. J. Ind. Eng. Chem. 8, 324 (1916). [117] "A Study of Some Recent Methods for the Determination of Total Sulfur

in Rubber." J. B. Tuttle and A. Isaacs. Tech. Pap. BS 5 (1914-15)

T45. J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 5, 235 (1915). J. Ind. Eng. Chem. 7, 658

(1915).

[118] "Combustion Method for the Direct Determination of Rubber." L. G. Wesson. Tech. Pap. BS 4 (1913-14) T35.

[119] "The Sampling of Rubber Goods." J. B. Tuttle. J. Ind. Eng. Chem. 5, 618 (1913).

[120] "An Improved Extraction Apparatus." T. B. Ford. J. Am. Chem. Soc.

34, 552 (1912).

[121] "The Determination of Total Sulfur in India Rubber." C. E. Waters and

J. B. Tuttle. Sci. Pap. BS 8, 445 (1912) S174. J. Ind. Eng. Chem. 3, 734 (1911).

10. PHYSICAL TESTING OF RUBBER

[122] "Factors Affecting Results Obtained with the Mooney Viscometer." Rolla H. Taylor. India Rubber World 112, 582 (1945). NBS Circular C451

(1945). Reprinted in Rubber Chem. Tech. 19, 808 (1946).

[123] "Use of the Shore Durometer for Measuring the Hardness of Synthetic and

Natural Rubbers." Rolla H. Taylor. A. S. T. M. Bulletin 123, 25 (1943). Rubber Chem. Tech. 17, 512 (1944).

[124] "Toggle Clamp for Rubber Tensile Specimens." William L. Holt and Archi- bald T. McPherson. J. Research NBS 22, 543 (1939) RP1204.

[125] "Physical Testing of Rubber." (in French). Archibald T. McPherson.

Vol. 1, book 3, chapter 2 of Encyclopedia of Rubber Technology (Encyclopedic Technologique du Caoutchouc), edited by A. Bloc and G. Genin. Revue Generale du Caoutchouc, Paris (1938)

.

[126] "Compression Cutting Test for Rubber." W. L. Holt. (BS J. Research 12, 489 (1934) RP674.

[127] "A Water Bath Having Submerged Individual Sample-Containers for the Accelerated Aging of Rubber in Air." W. L. Holt and A. T. McPherson.

Rubber Age 36, No. 3, 121 (Dec. 1934) . Rubber Chem. Tech. 8, 302 (1935)

.

[128] "Screw Micrometer Gauges for Rubber Specimens." W. L. Holt. BS J. Research 10, 575 (1933) RP549.

[129] "Measuring Microscope for Rubber Specimens." R. E. Lofton. Ind. Eng.

Chem. Anal. Ed. 4, 439 (1932) . Rubber Chem. Tech. 6, 151 (1933)

.
Rubber Research and Technology 21

C130] "A Simple Abrasion Test Machine for Rubber." P. A. Sigler and W. L. Holt. India Rubber World 82, 63 (1930)

.

1131] "Outline of Tentative Standard Laboratory Procedure for the Preparation

and Physical Testing of Rubber Samples." Physical Testing Committee,

Rubber Division, Am. Chem. Soc. and F. E. Rupert. Rubber Age (New

York) 26, 429 (1930). Rubber Chem. Tech. 3, 179 (1930). {132] "Importance of Temperature and Humidity Control in Rubber Testing:

I. Stress-Strain and Tensile Properties." Physical Testing Committee,

Rubber Division, Am. Chem. Soc, and F. E. Rupert. Ind. Eng. Chem. 20, 1245 (1928) ; II. Resistance to Abrasion. Ind. Eng. Chem. Anal. Ed. 1, 174 (1929). Rubber Chem. Tech. 1, 515 (1928) and 2, 680 (1929).

1133] "Importance of Temperature and Humidity Control in Rubber Testing."

Physical Testing Committee, Rubber Division, Am. Chem. Soc. and F. E. Rupert. Rubber Age 22, 245 (1927). 1134] "The Testing of Rubber Goods." BS Circular C38, 5th edition (1927).

J135] "Effect of Heat Generated During Stressing Upon the Tensile Properties of Rubber." O. E. Boone and J. R. Newman. Ind. Eng. Chem. 18, 539

(1926).

£136] "The Influence of Temperature on the Tensile Properties of Rubber Compounds." P. L. Wormeley. Presented at the Fourth International Rubber Congress, London, June 1914. Published in J. Torrey and A. S. Manders : The Rubber Industry, p. 246. International Rubber and Allied Trades Exhibition, London, 1914. £137] "Notes on Tension Tests of Rubber." P. L. Wormeley. Presented at Rubber Congress, New York, September 1912. Published in J. Torrey and

A. S. Manders : The Rubber Industry, p. 416. International Rubber and

Allied Trades Exhibition, London, 1914. {138] "Some Apparatus for Tension Tests of Rubber." P. L. Wormeley. Inter- national Association for Testing Materials, Proc. Sixth Congress, New

York, 1912.

11. RUBBER PRODUCTS

(A) TIRES 1139] "Measuring the Rate of Wear of Tire Treads." Frank L. Roth and William

L. Holt. J. Research NBS 32, 61 (1944) RP1574.

£140] "Paints and Other Protective Coatings for Tires." Archibald T. McPherson

and Eugene F. Hickson. NBS Letter Circular LC709 (1942).

£141] "Measurement of the Tread Movement of Pneumatic Tires and a Discussion

of the Probable Relation to Tread Wear." W. L. Holt and C. M. Cook. BS J. Research 1, 19 (1928) RP2.

£142] "Use and Care of Automobile Tires." BS Circular C341 ( 1927 )

.

£143] "Puncture Sealing Compounds for Pneumatic Tires." BS Circular C320

(1926).

[144] "Endurance Tests of Tires." W. L. Holt and P. L. Wormeley. Tech. Pap.

BS 20, 545 (1926) T318.

£145] "Wearing Quality of Tire Treads as Influenced by Reclaimed Rubber." W. L. Holt and P. L. Wormeley. Tech. Pap. BS 19, 579 (1925) T294.

£146] "Effect of Tire Resistance on Fuel Consumption." W. L. Holt and P. L. Wormeley. Tech. Pap. BS 19, 213 (1925) T283.

[147] "Dynamometer Tests of Automobile Tires." W. L. Holt and P. L. Wormeley. Tech. Pap. BS 17, 559 (1923) T240.

£148] "Power Losses in Automobile Tires." W. L. Holt and P. L. Wormeley.

Tech. Pap. BS 16, 451 (1922) T213.

(B) RECLAIMED RUBBER

[149] "Reclaimed Rubber." A. T. McPherson. BS Circular C393 (1931).

(C) COATED FABRICS AND THIN FILMS

[150] "The Preparation of Thin Films." T. P. Sager. Ind. Eng. Chem. Anal. Ed.

9, 156 (1937) . Rubber Chem. Tech. 10, 639 (1937)

.

[151] "Rubber Substitutes as Coatings for Balloon Fabrics." Theron P. Sager.

J. Aeron. Sci. 3,63 (1935).
22 Miscellaneous Publications, National Bureau of Standards

[152] "Effect of Solar Radiation Upon Balloons." J. D. Edwards and M. B. Long.

Tech. Pap. BS 12, (1919) T128.

[153] "Determination of Permeability of Balloon Fabrics." J. D. Edwards.

Tech. Pap. BS 11, (1918) T113.

(D) BRAKE LINING

[154] "Effect of Roughness of Cast-iron Brake Drums in Wear Tests of Brake

Linings/' Holla H. Taylor and William L. Holt. J. Research NBS

27, 395 (1941) RP1427.

[155] "Small Inertia-Type Machine for Testing Brake Lining." Rolla H. Taylor

and William L. Holt. J. Research NBS 24, 531 (1940) RP1297.

[156] "Automotive Brake Lining." NBS Letter Circular LC556 (1939).

[157] "Brake Performance Studies." W. S. James. J. Soc. Automotive Engrs.

14, 236 (1924).

(E) OTHER RUBBER PRODUCTS

[158] "Jar Rings for Use in Home Canning: Their Testing and a Proposed

Specification." Rolla H. Taylor, Helen G. Wheeler, and Frances Benedict. NBS Miscellaneous Publication M181 (1945).

[159] "Denture Rubber : Composition, Properties, and a Specification." W. T. Sweeney and H. J. Caul. J. Am. Dental Assoc. 27, 1446 (1940).

[160] "Test of Floor Coverings for Post-Office Workrooms." Warren E. Emley

and Carl E. Hofer. J. Research NBS 19, 567 (1937) RP1046.

[161] "Preliminary Tests of Some of the Newer Denture Materials." R. Barber.

J. Am. Dental Assoc. 21, 1960. (1934)., [162] "Rubber Cements." NBS Letter Circular LC411 (1934).

[163] "Rubber Beaker Rings for Accelerating Evaporation on Steam Bath."

J. A. Scherrer. Ind. Eng. Chem. Anal. Ed. 5, 22 (1933).

[164] "Some Properties of Sponge Rubber." NBS Circular C377 (1929).

[165] "Rubber Floor Tile." BS Letter Circular LC270 (1929).

[166] "Rubber Binders for Foundry Cores." NBS Letter Circular LC252 (1928).

[167] "Selection and Care of Garden Hose." BS Circular C327 (1926).

[168] "Tests of Flexible Gas Tubing." R. S. McBride and W. M, Berry. Tech. Pap BS 12 (1919) T133.

12. SPECIFICATIONS FOR RUBBER GOODS

(A) DIRECTORY OF SPECIFICATIONS

[169] "National Directory of Commodity Specifications," prepared by Paul A. Cooley and Ann E. Rapuzzi under the direction of A. S. McAllister. NBS Miscellaneous Publication M178 (1945).

(B) FEDERAL SPECIFICATIONS

[170] "Federal Specifications for Rubber Goods: General Specifications (Methods

of Physical Tests and Chemical Analyses)." Federal Standard Stock Catalog Item ZZ-R-601a June 25, 1940.

13. GENERAL INFORMATION ON RUBBER

[171] "Natural Rubber & Synthetic Rubber" (Borracha Natural E Borracha

Sintetica) in English and Portuguese. Norman Bekkedahl. Talk pre- sented 11-5-43 at the Instituto Agronomico do Norte. Published as a

bulletin by the Instituto Agronomico do Norte, Belem, Para, Brazil

(1943).

[172] "Rubber: List of Publications by Members of the Staff of the National Bureau of Standards." NBS Letter Circular LC707 (1942).

[173] "A Central Organization for Fundamental Research on Rubber." Archi- bald T. McPherson. India Rubber World 105, 255 (1941). Rubber

Chem. Tech. 15, 221 (1942).

[174] "Guide to the Literature on Rubber." NBS Letter Circular LC626 (1941).

Washington, February 7, 1947.

o