• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.156-176
• /
• 1999

Rubber chemicals such as accelerators, antidegradants, vulcanizing agents, processing agents and retarders are very important to the production and protection of tires and rubber goods. The use of accelerators and antidegradants are evaluated in various tire components. This paper will focus on how to vulcanize tires economically and maintain the physical properties of each tire component without severe degradation due to oxygen, heat and ozone. Also, new non-nitrosoamine accelerators and non-staining antiozonants will be discussed. Lastly, the future requirements of antidegradants and accelerators in the tire industry will be reviewed. Tires have been vulcanized with Sulfenamides as primary accelerators and either Guamdine's or Thiurams as secondary accelerators to achieve proper properties at service conditions. However, interior components such as the carcass can be vulcanized with Thiazoles as a primary accelerator to cure faster than the external components. Using the combination of Sulfenamide with secondary accelerators in a tire tread compound and the combination of a Thiazole and Guanidine in a carcass compound will be presented with performance data. Uniroyal Chemical and another Rubber Chemical Manufacturer have developed, "Tetrabenzyl Thiuram Disulfide," (TBzTD) as a non-Nitrosoamine accelerator, which could replace Nitrosoamine generating Thiurams. This new accelerator has been evaluated in a tread compound as a secondary accelerator. Also, Flexsys has developed N-t-butyl-2-benzothiazole Sulfenamide (TBSI) as a non-Nitrosoamine accelerator which could replace 2-(Morpholinothio) -benzothiazole (MBS), a scorch delayed Sulfendamide accelerator. TBSI has been evaluated in a Natural Rubber (NR) belt skim compound vs. MBS. An optimum low rolling resistant cure system has been developed in a NR tread with Dithiomorpholine (DTDM). Also, future requirements for developing accelerators will be discussed such as the replacement of DTDM and other stable crosslink systems. Antidegradants are divided into two different types for use in tire compounds. Internal tire compounds such as apex, carcass, liner, wire breaker, cushion, base tread and bead compounds are protected by antioxidants against degradation from oxygen and heat due to mechanical shear. The external components such as sidewall, chafer and cap tread com-pounds are protected from ozone by antiozonants and waxes. Various kinds of staining and non-staining antioxidants have been evaluated in a tire carcass compound. Also, various para-phenylene diamine antiozonants have been evaluated in a tire sidewall compound to achieve the improved lifetime of the tire. New non-staining antiozonants such as 2, 4, 6-tris-(N-1, 4-dimethylpentyl-p-phenylene diamine) 1, 3, 5 Trizine (D-37) and un-saturated Acetal (AFS) will be discussed in the tire sidewall to achieve better appearance. The future requirements of antidegradants will be presented to improve tire performance such as durability, better appearance and longer lasting tires.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.135-146
• /
• 1999

The thermal degradation kinetics of SBR and tire were studied using a conventional thermogravimetric analysis in the stream nitrogen at a heating rate of 5, 10, 15, $20^{\circ}C/min$, respectively. Thermogravimetric curves and their derivatives were analyzed using various analytical methods to determine the kinetic parameters. The degradation of the SBR and tire was found to be a complex process which has multi-stages. The Friedman method gave average activation energies for the SBR and tire of 247.53kJ/mol and 230.00kJ/mol, respectively. Mean-while, the Ozawa method Eave 254.80kJ/mol and 215.76kJ/mol. It would appear that either. Friedman's differential method or Ozawa's integral method provided satisfactory mathematical approaches to determine the kinetic parameters for the degradation of the SBR and tire. Approximately 86% and 55% of oil products were obtained at a final temperature of $700^{\circ}C$ and a heating rate of $20^{\circ}C/min$ for the SBR and tire respectively.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.121-127
• /
• 1999

Characteristics of high molecular weight styrene-butadiene rubber(HM-SBR)/low molecular weight styrene-butadiene rubber(LM-SBR) mixtures were studied to investigate how to modify the processability and the mechanical properties of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). Mooney viscosity of the HM-SBR/LM-SBR mixtures and torque increase due to the vulcanization decreased by increasing the LM-SBR content of the mixtures. Shore A hardness and rebound properties were decreased by increasing the LM-SBR content of the mixtures. It was found that the value of tan ${\delta}$ of the mixtures in rubbery state was increased, while glass transition temperatures of the vulcanized blends were constant by increasing the LM-SBR content of the mixtures. It was postulated that the decrease of Mooney viscosity by increasing the LM-SBR content of the blends was due to plasticizing effects of the LM-SBR and the increased polydispersity of the mixtures. Change of mechanical properties of the vulcanized HM-SBR/LM-SBR mixtures was attributed to the decreased crosslink densities of the mixtures by increasing the LM-SBR content of the mixtures.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.20-30
• /
• 1999

In this study, binary polyamide 6,6(PA 6,6)/ethylene-propylene rubber(EPM) or EPM-g-maleic anhydride(EPM-g-MA) blends and ternary PA 6,6/EPM/EPM-g-MA blends with various elastomer content were prepared in order to investigate the degree of influence of elastomer content and average particle size, morphology, and distribution of dispersed elastomer on mechanical and thermal properties of blends. According to the results, notched Izod impact strength and relative crystallinity of binary blends modified with EPM-g-MA as well as average particle size and distribution of dispersed elastomer in such blends were more improved than those of binary blends modified with EPM. Notched Izod impact strength of blend whose composition ratio(wt % ) was 70:30(PA 6,6 : EPM-g-MA) was the highest among the binary PA 6,6/EPM-g-MA blends. The impact strength was increased by 25 times and its relative crystallinity was increased by 7 times when compared with those of polyamide 6,6. In the case of ternary PA 6,6/EPM/EPM-g-MA blend of which composition ratio was 70:15:15(PA 6,6:EPM:EPM-g-MA), the elastomer was finely distributed with the average particle size of $0.56{\mu}m$. The Izod impact strength of this blend was the highest of all blends prepared with different elastomer content.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.71-76
• /
• 2004

4,4'-Methylenebis(2-chloroaniline)(MOCA) has been widely used as a crosslinking agent, but classified as a toxic chemical. Thus, its use will be limited in the near future. In this research, polyurethane coating films were prepared using 1,3-propanediolbis(4-aminobenzoate)(PDBA) as an alternative to MOCA. The base part was prepared by melting MOCA or PDBA in polyoxypropylene($M_n$=2000), followed by the addition of the various additives. The NCO-terminated toluene diisocyanate prepolymer was used as a curing agent. The polyurethane coating films were prepared by mixing the base part with the curing agent in an appropriate ratio at room temperature. The polyurethane coatings prepared using PDBA exhibited higher initial viscosity, but much longer pot lift, compared to those prepared using MOCA under the same conditions, due to lower reactivity of PDBA. The tensile strength and tear strength of the coating films were much weaker. However, the pot life, tensile strength, elongation, and tear strength of the coating films, prepared using PDBA in the presence of an increased amount of Pb(II)-octoate, were close to those of the coating films prepared using MOCA. Thus, it was concluded that PDBA can substitute MOCA in the preparation of polyurethane coatings as long as the reactivity of PDBA is enhanced using appropriate amounts of the catalyst or other appropriate catalyst.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.39 no.2
• /
• pp.131-141
• /
• 2004

The recycling of waste XLPE(crosslinked polyethylene), which is a major source of scraps from high voltage power transmission cables, has been discussed. The waste XLPE scraps were ground into fine powder with various sizes from less than $100{\mu}m$ up to about $1000{\mu}m$ using two types of tailor-made pulverizers. The compounds were prepared in a modular intermeshing co-rotating twin screw extruder at various conditions such as different compositions, types and powder sizes of waste XLPE, screw configurations and various polymer matrices (LDPE, HDPE, PP, PS). The mechanical and rheological properties and the fracture surface or the compounds were investigated. It was found that an improved impact strength was obtained from the compound with white XLPE powder pulverized from the scraps without outer/inner semi-conductive layers. Generally, the impact strength increases with the content of XLPE but decreases with the size of XLPE. Especially for LDPE, the extrusion was possible up to 80 wt% loading of XLPE. Also, the impact strength increases with the number of kneading disc blocks in the given screw configurations. The melt viscosity of the compounds increases with increasing XLPE loading. However, the higher shear thinning behavior of the compounds at common shear rates implies proper processibility of the compounds. In addition, the impact strength for other polymer matrices used increases with XLPE and it is noticeable that the impact strength of PS/XLPE (80/20 wt%) compound was improved twice that of pure PS.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.12-22
• /
• 2004

The plasma surface modification of natural rubber vulcanizate was carried out using chlorodifluoromethane in a radio-frequency (13.56 MHz) electrodeless bell type plasma reactor. The modification was qualitatively assessed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The frictional force of the plasma-treated surface was found to decrease with the time of plasma treatment. An increase in the surface polarity, as evidenced by the decrease in contact angle of a sessile drop of water and ethylene glycol on the natural rubber vulcanizate surface, was noted with the plasma modification. In the case of similar plasma treatment of glass surface, only a reduction in the polarity was observed. The use of geometric and harmonic mean methods was found to be useful to evaluate the London dispersive and specific components of surface free energy. Irrespective of the method used for evaluation, an increasing trend in the surface free energy was noted with increasing plasma treatment time. However, the harmonic mean method yielded comparatively higher values of surface free energy than the geometric mean method. The plasma surface modification was found to vary the frictional coefficient by influencing the interfacial, hysteresis and viscous components of friction in opposing dual manners.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.46 no.1
• /
• pp.37-44
• /
• 2011

Effect of organo nanoclay (Cloisite 30B) on the polyesterification of adipic acid (AA) with diethylene glycol(DEG) was investigated with p-toluene sulfonic acid (p-TSA) (Br${\phi}$nsted acid) and butylchlorotin dihydroxide (Lewis acid) catalyst at 383 and 423 K. The initial [OH]/[COOH] molar ratio was two and the concentration of the catalysts in the reactants was 0.14 mol% based on the total reactants. The kinetics of the polyesterification was interpreted with the conversion data that was calculated from the acid values of the reactant-product mixture. The reaction rate of the polyesterification, which was catalyzed with p-TSA, exhibited the second-order dependency on AA concentration. When Butylchlorotin dihydroxide was used, the reaction rate revealed the first-order dependency on AA concentration. The activation energy of the reactions catalyzed with p-TSA and Butylchlorotin dihydroxide were calculated at 42.2 and 63.8 kJ/mol, respectively. Addition of 5 wt% Cloisite 30B to the reactant significantly diminished the activity of p-TSA, so the reaction rate decreased and the activation energy was calculated at 72.9 kJ/mol. Butylchlorotin dihydroxide catalyst maintained its activity regardless of the addition of Cloisite 30B to the reactant and the activation energy was calculated to 61.8 kJ/mol. Lewis acid catalyst, butylchlorotin dihydroxide, was more effective than Br${\phi}$nsted acid catalyst for the esterification of AA with DEG.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.46 no.1
• /
• pp.45-53
• /
• 2011

The effect of the silane coupling agent, bis(triethoxysilypropyl)tetrasulfide (TESPT), on mechanical properties of a silica-filled NBR compound for oilseal was investigated. Curing behavior and crosslinking density of the compounds were measured using ODR (oscillating disk rheometer) and swelling ratio in toluene. UTM (universal testing machine) and shore A hardness tester were used in order to study the characteristics of mechanical properties of original vulcanizates and aged ones with heated air and ASTM No. 3. oil. Recovery of elasticity which influences the performance and service life of oilseal was investigated by giving bending deformation to vulcanizates in aging condition. After bending aging test, recovery distance was measured and calculated angle of recovery from it. TR (temperature retraction) test was performed on these vulcanizates to determine the low temperature recovery behavior. Wear resistance was measured by Taber type abrasion tester. In addition, SEM was used to characterize the morphology of the worn surface of vulcanizates. The result showed that addition of TESPT into silica-filled compound improves not only compound flow-ability, interaction between NBR and silica and crosslinking density, but also hardness, 100% modulus, recovery of elasticity, wear resistance, heat resistance and ASTM No.3 oil resistance of vulcanizates.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.47 no.2
• /
• pp.129-140
• /
• 2012

The objective of this study was to estimate the practical recycling rate of plastic products, so that the study was conducted to build material flow diagram for PVC profile. For this objective, product generation, waste generation and recycling status were investigated. Using collected and analyzed status data, analysis of material flow by product and building material flow diagram were conducted. As result of estimating the recycling rate by product, The sum of domestic demand was 525,448 ton and waste generation was 105,853ton in PVC flooring and profile. The sum of generation of recycling product and raw material was investigated to be 76,004ton(14.46%), which is higher compared to recycling obligation(8.5%) in 2009. To build the material flow diagram in the years(5~20years) ahead, prediction of future demand was based on the assumption that there will be no difference in annual generation of current and future. As the recycling rate of flooring and profile increases, it is estimated to reach 20% in 2013 according to the material flow diagram.