Abrasive slurry erosion behavior of nitrile-butadiene rubber with different acrylonitrile contents

Abstract

Nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) with different acrylonitrile contents were eroded by quartz slurry using a self-made erosion testing apparatus to study the erosion wear behavior. Quartz slurry with a concentration of 33 wt.% was used to impact the specimen surface at 45° sample angle. The experimental data, such as erosion rate, hardness and swelling increment were compared and analyzed. The morphologies of worn surfaces were characterized using the field emission scanning electron microscopy to reveal the wear mechanism. The results showed that the acrylonitrile content in the molecular chains had a significant effect on the erosion performance of NBR. Furthermore, a static swelling test was conducted as a contrast experiment to investigate the effect of erosion on the swelling behavior of rubber surface. By comparing the results it could be found that the dynamic swelling increment during the erosion test was almost four or five times larger than that of static swelling. Mechanism of the interaction between swelling and erosion was also discussed.