Fillers
In general, fillers are materials that are added to rubber compounds to modify the properties or costs.
They fall into two main types:
1. Reinforcing fillers:
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Carbon black.
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Silica/Silicate.
Reinforcing fillers will increase tensile strength, modulus and abrasion resistance of the rubber. The finer the particle the greater the effect.
2. Non-reinforcing mineral fillers:
They will not improve the physical properties of the rubber, and are often used just to reduce the material cost. Non-reinforcing fillers are also useful when you are trying to reduce the "rubberiness" of the material, to reduce resilience, mould shrinkage, increase density etc.
