White Paper Series - #1.

COMPOUNDING. A WINDING ROAD.

A reinforced rubber compound being the core of any fender, Paper #1 of the SFT White Paper Series on fender manufacturing focuses on the raw materials used in rubber production, the physical properties of a fender and their correlation with the compound’s composition.

Download your version below, it is available in

English: White Paper - Compounding
French: Dossier Technique - Composition
Spanish: Boletines Técnicos - Composición
Swedish: Teknisk rapport - Blandningen
Polish: Biala Ksiega - Sporzadzanie Mieszanki

1-Click Download of entire series: English | Spanish | French | Swedish 

The four-part SFT White Paper Series:

• aims to provide an unbiased view of what exactly makes a good fender
• is unbiased
• presents full facts 
• is a contribution to state-of-the art fender manufacturing standards 

White Paper #2 examines the complex interaction between materials and their processing, presenting the various available mixing devices. Download White Paper 2 - Mixing (available in English, French, Spanish, Swedish).

White Paper #3 highlights a practical approach to a decisive, quality-critical step in the fender industry and describes in detail the various different methods for manufacturing and curing with a focus on the quality-determining parameters pressure, temperature, and time. Download White Paper 3 - Manufacturing and curing (available in English). 

Executive Summary 'Compounding. A winding road'

The first part of the SFT White Paper Series on fender manufacturing outlines the considerations relevant to determining what makes a good fender. It focuses on the raw materials used in rubber production, the physical properties of a fender, and their correlation with the compound’s composition.

There are international standards and guidelines providing guidance as to the physical properties of rubber fenders – like PIANC2002 and ASTM D2000. However, there is no international standard specifying the chemical composition of the rubber compound used in the manufacturing of rubber fenders.

The paper finds that in fender manufacturing, physical properties are the only reliable indicator of the quality of a rubber compound that is defined by international standards. In addition, it recommends that ratios of fillers and reinforcement agents such as carbon black (CB), calcium carbonate (CC) and silica should be determined by specialists with profound material knowledge, as amount and particle size greatly influence the compound as well as its performance and durability. The paper furthermore draws attention to the fact that rubber compounds mixed correctly with CC by experienced manufacturers comply with and surpass international testing standards.