Kirsty Rutherford

Kirsty Rutherford is a fourth-year PhD student in the soft matter group at Queen Mary University of London, supervised by Prof. James Busfield. Her PhD research focuses on filler reinforcement, specifically exploring how the colloidal properties of carbon black influence the viscoelastic properties of filled elastomer composites. Her PhD is sponsored by EPSRC in collaboration with SLB.

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Presentation

Dielectric and mechanical response of filled elastomers: frequency-temperature relationships

Assessing the frequency-dependent behavior of elastomers is crucial for evaluating the rolling resistance and wet grip properties of tires. Traditionally, dynamic mechanical analysis is employed to measure this behavior but a standard DMA is unable to reach the necessary frequencies for evaluating tire performance. This can be addressed through time-temperature superposition; however, this introduces additional processing errors, particularly with filled elastomers. Alternatively, impedance spectroscopy offers a quick non-destructive method to evaluate the high-frequency behavior but has limitations for measuring highly-filled conductive carbon black compounds. This work compares both methods and examines the relationship between carbon black colloidal properties and frequency-dependent behavior.