Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-05-27 Origin: Site
As a porous elastic flooring material, rubber flooring mat is fabricated by mixing elastic rubber granules with polymer adhesive, followed by paving, compaction and curing molding. Its unique porous structure and elastic bonding system endow the material with excellent shock absorption, noise reduction, anti-slip and anti-fatigue characteristics, which can effectively buffer external impact and reduce walking and sports injury risks. In the whole production and construction process, the adhesive acts as the interfacial bonding medium of rubber granular aggregates, and its proportion relative to rubber granules is the core factor affecting the forming state of the composite material.
In current on-site construction operations, many quality problems of rubber mats in later service are not caused by unqualified raw materials, but by unscientific adhesive proportioning. Most construction teams adopt empirical proportioning standards, ignoring the matching relationship between adhesive dosage, granule specification and construction environment. Slight excess or deficiency of adhesive will not cause obvious quality problems in the short term after molding, but will lead to continuous performance attenuation under the combined action of temperature difference, ultraviolet radiation, rainwater erosion and long-term mechanical friction. This paper starts from the actual service failure phenomenon of rubber mats, systematically discusses the impact of adhesive proportioning on molding quality and long-term performance, and puts forward targeted proportioning optimization strategies for different construction environments.
The overall performance of rubber flooring mats depends on the interfacial bonding strength between adhesive and rubber granules and the rationality of internal pore structure. After uniform stirring and mixing, the adhesive forms a nano-scale adhesive film on the surface of rubber granules. Under the action of curing reaction, cross-linking structures are formed between adjacent granule adhesive films, thereby connecting discrete rubber granules into an integral elastic structure.
A reasonable adhesive proportion can form a uniform and thin adhesive wrapping layer on the surface of each rubber granule. The cross-linking points between granules are evenly distributed, and the internal pore size is moderate and orderly. This structure not only ensures sufficient interfacial bonding strength to resist external friction and extrusion, but also retains the elastic buffer space of rubber granules, realizing the unity of structural stability and functional elasticity. Once the adhesive proportion deviates from the optimal range, the thickness of the interfacial adhesive film and the distribution state of internal pores will change synchronously, destroying the structural balance of the composite material and laying hidden dangers for later performance failure.
When the adhesive proportion is lower than the optimal matching value, the total amount of adhesive is insufficient to fully cover the surface of all rubber granules. A large number of granule surfaces form incomplete adhesive films or no adhesive wrapping area, resulting in sparse and discontinuous cross-linking points between granules. In the compaction and molding stage of rubber mats, the lack of effective bonding medium makes it impossible for the granules to form a stable integral structure.
In terms of molding quality, low adhesive proportion will lead to large molding shrinkage of rubber mats. After curing and molding, the mat surface is prone to local depression, uneven flatness and loose edge structure. The overall compactness of the mat is inconsistent, with obvious hollow areas inside. In the initial stage of use, the surface of the rubber mat will appear fine particle shedding and sanding phenomenon. With the increase of service time, the loose internal structure will further expand, resulting in large-area peeling and local hollowing, which seriously affects the flatness and integrity of the flooring surface.
In addition, insufficient adhesive will prolong the curing cycle of rubber mats. The incomplete cross-linking reaction makes the surface of the mat remain slightly sticky for a long time after construction, which is easy to adhere to dust and sundries, resulting in poor surface cleanliness and affecting the overall decorative effect of the flooring.
Excessively high adhesive proportion means that a large amount of polymer colloid fills the gaps between rubber granules. In the molding process, the excess adhesive will extrude the original uniform pore structure, resulting in excessive compactness of the rubber mat and disappearance of elastic pore gaps. After curing, the overall hardness of the mat increases significantly, and the elastic buffer performance is greatly reduced, losing the core functional advantages of elastic rubber flooring.
From the perspective of molding mechanics, excessive adhesive will produce uneven curing shrinkage stress inside the rubber mat. The surface adhesive contacts with air and cures rapidly, while the internal adhesive cures slowly, forming obvious internal and external curing differences. This asymmetric curing state will produce residual stress inside the mat. In the later use process, under the influence of temperature rise and fall, the residual stress is gradually released, resulting in warping, edge curling and surface cracking of the rubber mat, which seriously damages the molding integrity of the product.
Moreover, excessive adhesive will cause surface glue accumulation during molding. The local thick adhesive layer on the surface forms a smooth hard shell after curing, which greatly reduces the anti-slip performance of the rubber mat and easily causes slipping risks in wet conditions, reducing the safety of the flooring system.
Rubber flooring mats need to bear long-term cyclic load such as pedestrian trampling and equipment rolling, so mechanical fatigue resistance is a key index of long-term service performance. When the adhesive proportion is reasonable, the interfacial bonding structure between granules is stable, which can evenly disperse external pressure and friction force, and avoid local stress concentration. The material can maintain stable mechanical properties after long-term cyclic extrusion and friction, with low wear rate and no obvious structural damage.
If the adhesive proportion is too low, the interfacial bonding strength is insufficient. Under cyclic load, the weak bonding points between granules are prone to fatigue fracture, resulting in continuous expansion of micro-cracks inside the mat. Over time, micro-cracks develop into macroscopic peeling and particle shedding, and the overall structural strength of the mat decreases rapidly. When the adhesive proportion is too high, the material hardness increases and the toughness decreases. Long-term alternating load will cause brittle fatigue damage of the adhesive layer, resulting in irregular cracks on the surface and inside of the mat, and the anti-fatigue performance is significantly reduced.
Most rubber mats are used in outdoor open environments and need to resist the aging effects of ultraviolet radiation, high and low temperature cycles, rainwater soaking and oxidation. Adhesive proportion directly affects the environmental stability of the composite structure. A moderate adhesive proportion forms a dense and stable interfacial protective film on the surface of rubber granules, which can effectively isolate the invasion of external harmful media, prevent ultraviolet rays and moisture from eroding the internal rubber matrix, and delay the aging and pulverization of rubber materials.
Insufficient adhesive leads to incomplete wrapping of granules, and the exposed rubber matrix is directly in contact with the external environment. Under long-term ultraviolet irradiation, the rubber molecular chain is broken, resulting in material hardening, pulverization and discoloration. Rainwater easily penetrates into the loose internal structure, causing the bonding interface to be damp and delaminated, and accelerating the overall aging damage of the mat. Excessive adhesive will reduce the temperature resistance of the mat. In high-temperature environment, the excess adhesive is easy to soften and creep, resulting in permanent deformation of the mat; in low-temperature environment, the adhesive layer becomes brittle, which is easy to crack and fall off, greatly reducing the weather resistance and service life of the product.
Different rubber granule particle sizes and gradations have different specific surface areas, which require matching adhesive proportions. Fine rubber granules have a large specific surface area and require a relatively higher adhesive dosage to ensure full interfacial wrapping and bonding. Coarse granules have a small specific surface area and large internal gap space, so the adhesive proportion should be appropriately reduced to avoid excessive glue filling and structural hardening. For mixed gradation granules with different particle sizes, the adhesive proportion should be calculated according to the total specific surface area to realize precise matching.
Construction temperature and humidity will affect the curing rate and bonding effect of the adhesive, so the proportion scheme needs to be dynamically adjusted according to the construction environment. In high-temperature and low-humidity environments, the adhesive volatilizes fast, and the proportion can be appropriately increased to ensure sufficient curing reaction. In low-temperature and high-humidity environments, the curing speed of the adhesive slows down, and excessive adhesive should be avoided to prevent incomplete curing and internal water accumulation. In rainy and humid seasons, a slightly low adhesive proportion with good air permeability is recommended to reduce the risk of mildew and delamination.
On-site construction should abandon empirical proportioning and adopt accurate weighing and batching to ensure the accuracy of the glue-granule ratio. In the mixing process, uniform stirring is required to avoid local excessive or insufficient adhesive, so that each granule can obtain a consistent adhesive wrapping effect. During compaction and molding, the compaction strength should be matched with the adhesive proportion to ensure the internal pore structure is uniform and stable, avoiding structural defects such as excessive compaction hardening or insufficient compaction looseness.
Adhesive proportioning is a key factor affecting the molding quality and long-term service performance of rubber flooring mats. Insufficient adhesive will cause loose molding structure, insufficient interfacial bonding strength and accelerated aging damage of the mat, while excessive adhesive will lead to hardened molding, residual internal stress, reduced toughness and poor weather resistance. Both proportion deviations will induce different types of structural defects and performance attenuation, seriously affecting the safety and durability of rubber flooring mats.
In practical engineering, the optimal adhesive proportion should be determined comprehensively according to rubber granule specifications, construction environment and service scenarios. Through precise proportioning design, dynamic environmental adjustment and standardized construction control, the interfacial bonding state and internal pore structure of rubber mats can be optimized, effectively improving molding quality, mechanical fatigue resistance and weather resistance. Scientific adhesive proportion control is the key to realize high-quality construction and long-term stable service of rubber flooring mat projects.
