Elastomers

Question 1

Natural rubber

Answer 1

Comes from the sap of rubber plants that are grown in massive plantations,

usually found in South America or the tropical regions of the Far East such as Indonesia and Thailand

This natural rubber is the processed so that it comes in products such as tyres, tyre tubes, elastic coverings, hoses etc

Question 2

Synthetic rubber

Answer 2

Driver from chemical compounds which themselves come from crude oil

Question 3

Vulcanisation

Answer 3

This process uses steel moulds that have a top and bottom half

The moulds are heated to approx 400 degrees

Sheet rubber or rubber granules are then placed into these hot moulds

A large hydronic press then forced the two parts of the moulds together and this pressure is maintained as the heat in the mould reduces.

As the heat is reduced the rubber product hardens. It is then extracted from the mould. Tyres are most commonly made using this process.

Vulcanised rubber will have very high tensile strength
Hardness and abrasion resistance will also be high compared to raw rubber