Abstract
The three commonest polymers used for foam rubber carpet backing are polyisoprene (NR - natural rubber), styrene-butadiene (SBR) rubber, and carboxylated styrene-butadiene (C-SBR) rubber. Each polymer has different properties and contributes to the characteristics of the carpet backing foam. A study is reported here of the properties of carpet-backing foams prepared from the polymers under comparable conditions. With regard to the compression modulus of the foam, NR is equivalent to SBR but lower than C-SBR. However, flex loss and the effect of water-soaking are greater for SBR and C-SBR. The same trend is seen for the delamina tion resistance, hysteresis loss, resilience, and tear strength. The ageing of the systems is discussed. The present position with regard to specifications for carpets is briefly outlined, and the effect these have on the polymer choice examined.
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