Sulfur vulcanization are merely the additives used for vulcanisation and that other compounds may also be added to the rubber such as fillers or polymer stabilizers. Ordinary sulfur (octasulfur) is rarely used despite its low cost. Because of the low melting point of S vs the cure temperatures, attempted vulcanization with ordinary results in sulfur bloom. Instead, various forms of polymeric sulfur are used instead. It is also possible to replace sulfur with other sulfur-donating compounds, for example accelerators bearing disulphide groups, in what is often termed 'efficient vulcanization' (EV). Disulfur dichloride may also be used for 'cold vulcanization'. Under normal circumstances,
Toughening Toughening Toughening refers to improving the fracture resistance of a given material. Crack propagation has an associated irreversible work, which is related to a material's toughness. Designing against this crack propagation leads to toughening the material. For the case of a ductile material such as a metal, this toughness is typically proportional to the fracture stress and strain as well as the gauge length of the crack. The plane strain toughness in a metal is given by: where The toughness of a brittle material is typically twice the surface energy associated with the formation of the fracture surfaces. There are