Standard Methods for Testing Vulcanized Rubber and Thermoplastic Elastomers—Tension
All rubber materials covered by these test methods must resist tensile forces for adequate performance in certain applications. These test methods permit the measurement of such tensile properties. However, tension properties alone may not directly relate to the total end use performance of the product because of the extensive range of potential performance requirements in actual use. Tension or tensile properties depend both on products and the conditions of the test, including extension rate, humidity, temperature, pretest, specimen geometry, pretest conditioning, etc. Hence, the materials should be compared only when tested under the specific test conditions. Rate of extension and Temperature may have considerable effects on tensile properties and hence can be controlled easily. These effects will vary depending on the type of material being tested. Tensile set represents the residual deformation, which is partly recoverable and partly permanent after retraction and stretching. Hence, the periods of recovery and extension must be controlled to achieve comparable results.