Abrasion resistance is the ability of a rubber material to resist material loss when subjected to mechanical wear (friction, sliding, rolling).

Abrasion resistance in rubber comes from the right polymer + the right filler + the right cure + good dispersion. You can’t “cheat” it with hardness alone.

Higher abrasion resistance → longer service life
Lower abrasion resistance → faster wear, dusting, or failure

What controls abrasion in rubber?

A good abrasion-resistant rubber deforms elastically, resists crack initiation and recovers quickly instead of tearing chunks away. Abrasion is a combination of:

• Tear resistance

• Elastic recovery

• Filler reinforcement

• Polymer strength

• Surface interactions

Key material factors

1. Polymer type

Typical abrasion ranking (general, not absolute):

• Natural rubber (NR) → excellent (benchmark)

• BR (butadiene rubber) → very good (often blended)

• SBR → good

• NBR → moderate to good (depends on ACN)

• EPDM → moderate

• Silicone (VMQ) → poor

NR’s strain-induced crystallization is a huge advantage here.

2. Fillers

• Carbon black → dramatically improves abrasion resistance

  • High-structure, small-particle blacks (e.g., N220, N234) = best

• Silica → can be good, but usually less abrasion-resistant than CB unless optimized

• Poor dispersion = poor abrasion, regardless of filler type

3. Crosslink density & cure system

• Too low → soft, smearing wear

• Too high → brittle, chunking wear

• Sulfur cures often give better abrasion than peroxide cures (for many rubbers)

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4. Hardness

• Harder rubbers often wear less—but not always

• Two rubbers with the same Shore A can have very different abrasion behavior

• Abrasion is about energy dissipation, not just hardness

How abrasion is measured

Different tests simulate different wear modes:

DIN abrasion (DIN 53516 / ISO 4649)

• Measures volume loss (mm³)

• Lower number = better abrasion resistance

• Very common for tires and industrial rubber

Akron abrasion

• Rotating drum + slip

• Older but still used in some specs

NBS abrasion

• Relative index vs reference compound

• Higher index = better abrasion

No single test predicts all real-world wear.

Why abrasion resistance matters

Critical for:

• Tires and treads

• Conveyor belts

• Rollers

• Seals in dynamic contact

• Shoes and soles

• Mining and construction rubber

Poor abrasion resistance = dusting, cracking, loss of dimensions, early failure.

Trade-offs

Improving abrasion resistance often impacts:

• Rolling resistance / hysteresis

• Heat buildup

• Low-temperature flexibility

• Processing

Abrasion vs related properties

• Abrasion resistance → material loss over time

• Tear resistance → resistance to crack growth

• Cut resistance → resistance to sharp damage

• Fatigue resistance → survival under repeated strain

You need the right combination, not just one high number.