Rubber aging in tires. Part 2: Accelerated oven aging tests

The kinetics of oxidation of wedge and skim rubber from tires aged at different oven temperatures with various fill gases have been measured for 5 different tires and compared to field results. We demonstrate that oven aging tires mounted on wheels and inflated to the maximum sidewall pressure closely reproduce the aging behavior measured for tires collected after customer use. Temperatures as high as 70 °C can be used to accelerate aging. Use of 50/50 blend of N₂/O₂ as a fill gas accelerates the oxidative aging by 30-40% relative to air. By combining elevated temperatures with oxygen enriched fill gas, it is possible to oven age tires to an age equivalent to 6 years in Phoenix in 8 weeks or less.     

Blending of Natural Rubber/Recycled Ethylene-Propylene-diene Rubber: Promoting the Interfacial Adhesion Between Phases by Natural Rubber Latex

This article deals with blends based on natural rubber (NR) and recycled ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (R-EPDM). Natural rubber latex (NRL) was introduced into the blends to enhance interfacial adhesion between NR and R-EPDM. A new route of compounding was also suggested. The blends were prepared by mixing R-EPDM and other additives in NRL before blending with natural rubber on a two-roll mill. By applying this method, the homogeneity of the blends and cross-linking distribution are significantly improved. The blends exhibited superior state of cure, swelling resistance, mechanical properties and dynamic mechanical properties. The degree of entanglement between NR and R-EPDM also increased after NRL modification.     

Nylon 6.6 accelerating aging studies: II. Long-term thermal-oxidative and hydrolysis results

Long-term (greater than 5 year exposures), low-temperature (as low as 37 °C) accelerated oven aging results were obtained for Nylon 6.6 fibers under thermo-oxidative conditions (air aging with an oxygen partial pressure of 13.2 cmHg in Albuquerque). To assess the importance of humidity on aging, experiments were also conducted under a combination of 100% RH plus 13.2 cmHg of oxygen partial pressure at temperatures ranging from 138 °C to 64 °C plus an additional experiment at 70% RH and 80 °C. The low-temperature tensile strength results showed that the Arrhenius activation energy under the pure oxidative degradation conditions dropped from ∼96 kJ/mol above ∼100 °C-∼30 kJ/mol below this temperature, indicative of a transition in the oxidative chemistry at low temperatures. Earlier work by our group on the same material concluded that hydrolytic degradation effects dominated oxidation effects at higher aging temperatures. However, the current long-term, low-temperature comparisons lead to the conclusion that humidity is not an important aging factor below ∼50 °C. By extrapolating time-temperature superposed oxidative degradation data using the low-temperature activation energy, we obtain predictions at 21 °C. At this temperature, we estimate that a tensile strength loss of 50% takes on the order of 70 years. The 21 °C predictions are shown to be reasonably consistent with long-term (up to 38 year) ambient results on similar Nylon materials removed from field-aged parachutes. Although the estimated average exposure temperature varies from parachute to parachute, the highest average temperature is estimated to be on the order of 21 °C.     

Thermo-Mechanical Performance of Natural Rubber/Recycled Ethylene-Propylene-Diene Rubber Blends in the Presence of ZnO Nanoparticles

In the present study, recycled ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (R-EPDM) was used in an attempt to create a value-added natural rubber (NR) material based on NR/R-EPDM blends. ZnO nanoparticles were also incorporated in a way to replace the conventional ZnO together with special attention to improve the thermo-mechanical performance of the blends. Polyhedral and spherical shapes of ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized, and they were found to have no impurities, with a dimension ranging from 10 to 40 nm. ZnO nanoparticles not only act as a curing activator but also improve the thermal stability and dynamic mechanical properties of the blends.     

Rubber network in elastomer nanocomposites

The influence of inorganic nanoparticles on crosslinking mechanism of elastomers has been evaluated by applying the tube model on equilibrium statistical mechanics. The results have shown that a highly ordered structure with a huge amount of entanglements, wherein the polymer is nanoscopically confined, is formed by the addition of nanoparticles. These physical links exhibit freedom of movement under stretching, but in a lower volume because of confinement. That is, network molecular parameters such as lateral tube dimensions or average molecular mass of the chains decreased in presence of nanoparticles.     

二维相关红外光谱法及标准线性固态模型对天然橡胶热氧老化机理的研究

对天然橡胶复合材料进行了不同时间下的热氧加速老化实验并分析其老化机理.采用红外测试研究天然橡胶在热氧老化过程中可能的基团变化规律,同时对不同老化时间下的红外结果进行二维相关分析,发现老化产物的生成速率依次为酯过氧化物醚;核磁交联密度测试表明总交联密度(XLD)与网链分子量(Mc)及横向弛豫时间(T2)有很好的对应关系,XLD随着老化时间的增加而增加,即天然橡胶热氧老化过程中交联反应占主导地位;示差扫描量热(DSC)测试发现,随着老化时间的增加,玻璃化转变温度(Tg)升高,玻璃化转变区变宽,表明交联反应占主导地位,与核磁交联密度测试结果一致.通过对天然橡胶进行压缩应力松弛实验,采用修正的标准线性固态模型(SLS模型)进行拟合分析,发现在短时热氧老化过程中,老化以氧化和交联反应为主,与核磁交联密度及DSC实验结果一致.     

A rheological method exploiting Cole-Cole plot allows gel quantification in Natural Rubber

Raw Natural Rubber (NR) quality, rather variable, is controlled according to international standards (ISO2000, etc.). Despite these standards, better characterization of this complex material is still needed to reduce feedstock waste and energy losses in the manufacturing processes. Twenty-four NR samples were studied. Their gel contents were quantified after dissolution in tetrahydrofuran. The rheological properties of the raw NR samples were measured in double-shear geometry. The Cole-Cole plot of the shear moduli (G″ = f(G′)) was used to graphically calculate an h parameter, described as an indicator of the crosslink density of a polymer. The total gel of NR was found to clearly influence the rheological properties of the material at low frequency. This study also showed that the microgel of NR accounted for 46–92% of the total gel, and cannot be neglected when investigating the influence of gel on NR properties.     

Stabilization effect of lignin in natural rubber

A series of carbon black filled natural rubbers containing lignin was tested from the view point of their thermo-oxidative aging. Lignin is biopolymer that belongs to the main components of wood. Mechanical properties and crosslink density of lignin stabilized vulcanisates were measured before and after thermo-oxidative aging for 24, 72, 168, 240 and 408 h at 80 °C. The results were compared with those from NR vulcanisates stabilized with the commercial rubber antioxidant N-phenyl-N-isopropyl-p-phenylene diamine (IPPD). The results obtained show that lignin exerts a stabilizing effect in carbon black filled natural rubber. Its effect is comparable with that of conventional synthetic antioxidant. Moreover, the addition of lignin increased the stabilizing effect of IPPD.     

环氧化天然橡胶凝胶溶胶的热老化性能

环氧化天然橡胶凝胶溶胶的热老化性能;红外差谱     

Prediction of paper permanence by accelerated aging II. Comparison of the predictions with natural aging results

Accelerated aging tests are credible and useful to predict paper permanence only if such tests can be shown to correlate with natural aging. In the first part of this study, a kinetic model was developed based on the accelerated aging results. In this report, we have shown that this kinetic model can indeed predict the natural aging results of lignin-free sheets with a statistical confidence. This is the first quantitative comparison of accelerated aging with natural aging.     

A rheological investigation of aqueous solutions of poly (vinyl alcohol) during aging. Part IV: Repeated aging of concentrated solutions

Aging of aqueous solutions of poly (vinyl alcohol) obtained by melting of gels, formed in the aging process from solutions prepared by the dissolution of the polymer in hot water, was investigated using non-Newtonian viscometry and normal stress measurement. It was shown that, if the gels undergo melting at the same temperature at which the original solutions were prepared, aging of such solutions proceeds in the same way as in the case of the original solutions. If melting occurred due to heating at lower temperature, the resulting solutions aged more quickly.     

Kinetic modelling of the thermal oxidation of polyisoprene elastomers. Part 1: Unvulcanized unstabilized polyisoprene

The thermal oxidation of an unvulcanized, unstabilized polyisoprene rubber (IR) has been studied in the 40-140 °C temperature range. Ageing was monitored by FTIR determination of double bonds and carbonyl groups, mass uptake measurement, and weight average molar mass determination. A mechanistic scheme based on the standard scheme for radical chain oxidation, but taking into account the diversity of initiation processes and the existence of inter- and intramolecular radical additions to double bonds, was built. The kinetic model derived from this scheme is composed of seven differential equations to be solved in discrete thickness layers to take into account the kinetic control by oxygen diffusion. This system was numerically solved using a Matlab program dedicated to stiff systems of differential equations. The elementary rate constants and other kinetic parameters were then determined from experimental data, using an inverse approach. A set of physically reasonable parameter values was obtained, thus allowing us to envisage lifetime predictions at low temperature (long term). The results led to observations difficult to make from classical analytical studies, for instance the predominance of bimolecular hydroperoxide decomposition among other initiation modes or the competition between intermolecular hydrogen abstraction and intramolecular addition of peroxy radicals to double bonds.     

Multi-Domain versus Single-Domain: A Magnetic Field is Not a Must for Promoting Spin-Polarized Water Oxidation

The reaction kinetics of spin-polarized oxygen evolution reaction (OER) can be enhanced by ferromagnetic (FM) catalysts under an external magnetic field. However, applying a magnetic field necessitates additional energy consumption and creates design difficulties for OER. Herein, we demonstrate that a single-domain FM catalyst without external magnetic fields exhibits a similar OER increment to its magnetized multi-domain one. The evidence is given by comparing the pH-dependent increment of OER on multi- and single-domain FM catalysts with or without a magnetic field. The intrinsic activity of a single-domain catalyst is higher than that of a multi-domain counterpart. The latter can be promoted to approach the former by the magnetization effect. Reducing the FM catalyst size into the single-domain region, the spin-polarized OER performance can be achieved without a magnetic field, illustrating an external magnetic field is not a requirement to reap the benefits of magnetic catalysts.     

Investigation of aging behavior and mechanism of nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) in the accelerated thermal aging environment

Nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) was exposed to an accelerated thermal aging environment produced by an air-circulating oven for different time periods. NBR aging was evaluated by morphology, crosslink density, mechanical properties, chemical changes and thermal stability. The results showed that the surface damage of NBR turned severe and inhomogeneous, and the aging degree was most serious on the edge region of voids. Crosslinking reactions mainly occurred in the aging process. The tensile strength increased with increase in crosslink density up to a maximum value and thereafter decreased with further increase in crosslink density. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) analysis demonstrated that hydroxyl groups were formed and the additives migrated from inner to surface of NBR samples. In addition, the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated that the thermal stability of NBR did not significantly change in the accelerated thermal aging environment.     

Physical aging studies of amorphous linear polyesters. Part II. Dependence of structural relaxation parameters on the chemical structure

The enthalpy relaxation of a series of linear amorphous polyesters (poly(propylene isophthalate) (PPIP), poly(propylene terephthalate) (PPTP), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PETP), and poly(dipropylene terephthalate) (PDPT)) has been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). These polyesters have been annealed at equal undercooling below their respective glass transition temperatures, T_g, (T_g − 27°C, T_g − 15°C, and T_g − 9°C) for periods of time from 15 min to 480 h. The key parameters of structural relaxation, namely the apparent activation energy (Δh*), the nonlinearity parameter (x) and the nonexponentiality parameter (β), have been determined for each polyester and related to an effective relaxation rate (1/τ_eff) and to the chemical structure. We observe that the variation of the structural relaxation parameters shows a trend that is common to other polymeric systems, whereby an increase of x and β corresponds a decrease in Δh*. The comparison of these parameters in PETP and in PPTP gives information about the effect of the introduction of a methyl group pendant from the main chain; the x parameter increases (i.e., a reduced contribution of the structure to the relaxation times), β increases (i.e., a narrow distribution of relaxation times), and Δh* decreases. Additionally, enthalpy relaxation experiments show that a decrease of Δh* correlates with an increase of 1/τ_eff, when they are measured at a fixed value of the excess enthalpy, δ_H. The introduction of an isopropyl ether group in PDPT with respect to PPTP decreases both x and β, but increases Δh*, which the rate of relaxation decreases. The ring substitution in PPTP and PPIP originates less significant changes in the structural parameters. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36 : 113–126, 1998     

Modeling mechanical aging shift factors in glassy polymers during nonisothermal physical aging. I. Experiments and KAHR‐ate model prediction

This article presents experimental results and model predictions of the mechanical response of polymers during nonisothermal physical aging. The nonisothermal temperature history leads to a complex evolution in the aging behavior of the material. To characterize this response, sequential creep tests of polyether‐ether‐ketone (PEEK) and polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) films are performed at various aging times using a dynamic mechanical analyzer. The resulting strain histories are analyzed to determine discrete aging shift factors (a_te) for each of the creep tests. The nonisothermal aging response is then predicted using the KAHR‐a_te model, which combines the KAHR model of volume recovery with a suitable linear relationship between aging shift factors and specific volume. The KAHR‐a_te model can be utilized to both predict aging response or to determine necessary model parameters from a set of aging shift factor data. For the PEEK and PPS materials considered in the current study, predictions of mechanical response are demonstrated to be in good agreement with the experimental results for several thermal histories. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 340–352, 2009     

Zeolite-filled silicone rubber membranes: Part 1. Membrane preparation and pervaporation results

Amongst the alternative fuels obtained from renewable resources alcohol from fermentation may become one of the most important. The combination of fermentation with pervaporation in a membrane bioreactor offers the advantage of continuous processing. In this membrane bioreactor alcohol-selective membranes are needed. The performance of the membranes available at present is poor. Much research is being carried out on silicone rubber but the selectivity of this material for alcohol is too low. Addition to the membrane of a sorptive filler with a high selectivity towards alcohol appears to improve both selectivity and flux. Silicalite, a novel type of hydrophobic zeolite, has been used for that purpose. Results presented in this paper indicate that transport through the zeolite pores contributes to a major extent to the total transport through the membrane.     

Iron gall ink-induced corrosion of cellulose: aging,degradation and stabilization. Part 1: model paper studies

Cellulose in historic paper documents is often damaged by the writing media used, especially iron gall ink or copper pigments. Degradation induced by iron gall ink is suggested to be a synergistic process comprising both hydrolytic and oxidative reactions. These processes were studied on very low sample amounts according to the CCOA and FDAM method, i.e. by fluorescence labeling of carbonyl and carboxyl groups in combination with GPC-MALLS, respectively. This study focused on preventive means to stop the deterioration induced by iron gall ink of cellulose and to prevent further damage, keeping in mind that a suitable conservation treatment has to hinder both, hydrolytic and oxidative processes, at the same time. A combination of the complexing agent calcium phytate and calcium hydrogencarbonate in aqueous solution was proved to give optimum results. To gain insight into long term stability, an aging step was performed after treatment and different ink modifications were tested. Recording the molecular weight distributions and the carbonyl group content over time GPC analysis verified for the first time the preventive effect of this treatment. This effect was not only seen for the ink-covered areas, but extended also to areas remote from the ink lines. Ink containing copper ions responded equally positively to the calcium phytate/hydrogencarbonate treatment as the iron gall ink papers did. Gelatine, sometimes used in a similar way due to an alleged cellulose-stabilizing effect did not have a beneficial influence on cellulose integrity when metal ions were present.