Introduction — the book and rubber blends

The origins of this book are described in the Preface and are important in defining the form which it takes. It is neither an exhaustive treatment of the subject — rubber blends — nor one of the oft-encountered collection of seminar papers. Whilst the chapters have a number of authors, all have worked as a team tackling a number of related topics in a defined programme of work. Several consequences flow from this. There are common threads and a generality of approach. Only certain blend systems are considered, even where an approach might logically be also applicable to another combination of elastomers. The work described was also constrained by falling within a fixed time frame, and scope for further advances remains in many of the more practical areas.