Abrasion resistance is a performance factor of para-mount importance for many rubber products, such as tires,
conveyor belts, power transmission belts, hoses, footwear, and floor covering. A test capable of measuring resistance to abrasion of rubber, including uniformity of wear behavior under abrasive/frictional service conditions is therefore highly desirable.
This test method-ASTM D5963 covers the measurement of abrasionresistance of rubbers (vulcanized thermoset rubbers and ther-moplastic elastomers) that are subject to abrasive/frictional wear in actual service. The abrasion resistance is measured by moving a test piece across the surface of an abrasive sheet mounted to a revolving drum, and is expressed as volume loss in mm or abrasion resistance index in percent. For volume loss, a smaller number indicates better abrasion resistance, while for the abrasion resistance index, a smaller number denotes poorer abrasion resistance.
This ASTM D5963 may be used to estimate the relative abrasion resistance of different rubbers. Since conditions of
abrasive wear in service are complex and vary widely, no direct correlation between this accelerated test and actual perfor-mance can be assumed.
This test method is suitable for comparative testing,quality control, specification compliance testing, referee pur-
poses, and research and development work.
