Rheology of Rubber and Rubber Nanocomposites

Rheology deals with the deformation and flow of any material under the influence of an applied stress. In practical applications, it is related with flow, transport, and handling any simple and complex fluids [1]. It deals with a variety of materials from elastic Hookean solids to viscous Newtonian liquid. In general, rheology is concerned with the deformation of solid materials including metals, plastics , and rubbers, and liquids such as polymer melts, slurries, and polymer solutions. Any rheometric technique involves the simultaneous assessment of force, and deformation and/or rate as a function of temperature. Through the appropriate rheometrical equations, such basic measurements are converted into quantities of rheological interest, for instance, shear or extensional stress and rate in isothermal condition. The rheometrical equations are established by considering the test geometry and type of flow involved, with respect to several hypotheses dealing with the nature of the fluid and the boundary conditions; the fluid is generally assumed to be homogeneous and incompressible, and ideal boundaries are considered, for instance, no wall slip