Effect of pottery clay on mechanical and impact absorption properties of natural rubber floor mat

Natural rubber (NR) is an invaluable material, in great demand for manufacturing of broad-ranging products. Its performance and properties have been widely studied by incorporating with different ingredients and inorganic fillers including clay minerals to develop many products, one of which is rubber floor mat. Nevertheless, the study on the pottery clay with NR from Cambodia is limited. This study investigated on the mechanical, impact absorption and morphological properties of clay-filled NR at different loadings for floor mat application. It was found that the effect of clay loadings on hardness of rubber composites was insignificant while the value of tensile strength and elongation at break before ageing was reduced to about 10 MPa and 720%, respectively, as clay loadings increased. For tensile properties after ageing, heat resistance property was obtained at clay loading of 20 and 30 phr. The value of tear strength was reduced as clay loading increased by reasons explained through SEM images that revealed agglomeration of clay filler within the rubber matrix accountable for the reduction in mechanical properties. The impact energy absorption showed optimum level at 10 phr of clay loadings at the value of 3.0 Joules. Compared to two types of commercial floor mats, the compounded composites showed superior performance in tensile properties and impact absorption ability.