• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.76-84
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• 2013

The term 'Piezoresistive effect' describes a change in the electrical resistance of the material from deformed to its original shape by the external pressure, e.g., elongation, compression, etc. This phenomenon has various applications of sensors for monitoring pressure, vibration, and acceleration. Although there are many materials which have the piezoresistive effect, rubber (nano)composites with conductive fillers have attracted a great deal of attention because the piezoresistive effect appears at the various range of pressure by controlling the type of filler, particle size, particle shape, aspect ratio of particles, and filler content. Especially one can obtain the composites with elasticity and flexibility by using the rubber as a matrix. This paper aims to review the piezoresistive effect itself, their basic principles, and the various conductive rubber-composites with piezoresistive effect.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.124-130
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• 2018

Recently, microwaves have been used for desulfurization because they can selectively dissociate C-S and S-S bonds present in vulcanized rubber. In this study, we investigated the changes in structural and physical properties of EPDM (Ethylene propylene diene monomer) rubber by irradiating it with microwaves for different durations. The surface chemical composition of the irradiated EPDM rubber was analyzed by FT-IR, XPS, and EDS analyses. It was confirmed by XPS that C-S and S-S S2p peak heights greatly decreased when microwave irradiation was performed for more than 5 min. In the EPDM sample irradiated with microwaves for 10 min, the number of S-O bonds significantly increased owing to oxidation. As the microwave irradiation time was increased, SEM images showed cracks and voids on the EPDM surface. The 20% decomposition temperature of the EPDM rubber sample was investigated by TGA, and it was found to be about $435.23^{\circ}C$ for the EPDM rubber irradiated for 10 min. The crosslinking density of the EPDM rubber was determined by measuring the degree of swelling, and the highest value was observed for the E5 sample irradiated for 5 min. The degree of swelling of the E10 sample irradiated for 10 min was lower than that of the E5 sample. These results indicate that when irradiated with microwaves for more than a certain time, desulfurization occurs and the side chain of the EPDM rubber dissociates and forms additional crosslinking bonds.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.2-8
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• 2013

PURPOSE. Autoclaves and UV sterilizers have been commonly used to prevent cross-infections between dental patients and dental instruments or materials contaminated by saliva and blood. To develop a dental sterilizer which can sterilize most materials, such as metals, rubbers, and plastics, the sterilization effect of an atmospheric pressure non-thermal air plasma device was evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS. After inoculating E. coli and B. subtilis the diamond burs and polyvinyl siloxane materials were sterilized by exposing them to the plasma for different lengths of time (30, 60, 90, 120, 180 and, 240 seconds). The diamond burs and polyvinyl siloxane materials were immersed in PBS solutions, cultured on agar plates and quantified by counting the colony forming units. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and significance was assessed by the LSD post hoc test (${\alpha}$=0.05). RESULTS. The device was effective in killing E. coli contained in the plasma device compared with the UV sterilizer. The atmospheric pressure non-thermal air plasma device contributed greatly to the sterilization of diamond burs and polyvinyl siloxane materials inoculated with E. coli and B. subtilis. Diamond burs and polyvinyl siloxane materials inoculated with E. coli was effective after 60 and 90 seconds. The diamond burs and polyvinyl siloxane materials inoculated with B. subtilis was effective after 120 and 180 seconds. CONCLUSION. The atmospheric pressure non-thermal air plasma device was effective in killing both E. coli and B. subtilis, and was more effective in killing E. coli than the UV sterilizer.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2012

The effect of the grafting ratio on the mechanical property and adhesion property of the grafted EPDM modified with methacrylic acid (MA) was investigated. The storage modulus of MA-grafted EPDM was maintained higher than that of cross-linked EPDM vulcanizate by sulfur, but it was observed that the storage modulus was decreased at elevated temperature because of the weakened secondary bonding. When the functional group for hydrogen bonding was introduced in EPDM, it had excellent mechanical properties by the aggregate between grafted EPDM molecules and crystallinity of MA. The bonding strength between EPDM and other rubbers was very low because EPDM has nonpolar property and low molecular interaction to others. The bonding strength was increased as increasing grafting ratio and it was excellent enough to break the rubber during the peel test when the grafting ratio was more than 10%.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.342-349
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• 2011

The effect of the amount of vinyltriethoxysilane (VTEOS) in precipitated silica filled silicone rubbers was extensively investigated in terms of the change of mechanical properties, heat resistance, oil resistance, compression set, resilience, and curing characteristics. As the content of VTEOS increased from 0 to 2.0 phr, the hardness of the silicone rubber increased, however, tensile strength, elongation at break, and tear strength decreased. From heat resistance test, the change of mechanical properties was pronounced for silicone rubber treated with more VTOES. The best heat resistance was achieved at 2.0 phr VTOES. In addition, oil resistance was proportionally improved with VTEOS content. From oil resistance test. it was found that the decrease in hardness and maximum elongation was reduced for VTEOS-added systems. Finally, resilience, compression set, degree of cure and crosslink density were significantly enhanced with the amount of VTEOS.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.179-184
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• 2016

In this work, the influence of milled carbon fiber direction on mechanical properties of milled carbon fibers/carbon blacks/natural rubber compounds was investigated. The compounds were prepared by adding the 6 phr milled carbon fibers (MCFs) and 40 phr carbon blacks (CBs) into the natural rubber. The MCFs were aligned in a parallel and orthogonal direction in the compounds using two-roll-mill machine. Mechanical properties of compounds were studied by tensile characteristics and tearing strength. As a result, the compounds showed higher tensile strength, 100%~300% modulus, and tearing strength than those of using any other compounds due to the aligning MCFs in parallel. Mechanical properties of the compounds reinforced with non-aligned MCFs were inferior to those of others. Consequently, the parallel aligned MCFs in the compounds led to an increase of tensile properties and improvement of tearing strength, resulted from MCFs with the high elastic modulus.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.301-308
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• 2004

Three types of parylene (PA-N, PA-C, PA-D) were used for coating the surface on natural latex rubbers in order to improve surface characteristics including mechanical properties and biocompatibility. The parylene coating was the CVD (chemical vapor deposition) method, and the surface properties of the modified latex were measured. Annealing effects on the mechanical properties of the coated latex were also investigated. The adhesion between latex and parylene was good for all the types of parylene used. As annealing temperature was increased, latex modified with PA-N became more hydrophobic, while the latex treated with PA-C and PA-D became more hydrophilic. As the annealing temperature was raised, the tensile strength was increased, and the elongation was decreased. The biocompatibility was noticeably improved on the latex surface modified with the parylenes through CVD method.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.251-261
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• 2003

The flame retardancy and foaming properties of NBR foams containing waste ground tire rubber (GTR) were studied. When the composition ratios of NBR/GTR were ranged in $100/0{\sim}80/20$ (w/w) and rubbers/flame retardants were in the range of $1/1.95{\sim}3.70 wt%$, the considerably optimized foam for flame retardancy was obtained with high limiting oxygen indices (LOI, $29.4{\sim}40.0$), low heat release rate(HRR), closed/semi-closed cell of uniformity, and reasonable expandability ($215{\sim}300 %$). The LOI was increased and the heat release rate was decreased with increasing the amount of GTR content.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.273-280
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• 2003

Elastic responses on both pure natural rubber melts with different molecular weights and the rubber compounds mixed with various types of carbon blacks were investigated in this study. Furthermore, the degree of bound rubber was measured for various carbon blacks with different sizes and structures in order to study the interaction between the rubber and carbon blacks, and to study the correlation between the interaction and the elastic responses. As a loading amount of carbon black increased, the degree of bound rubber became higher, particularly far carbon-black particles with smaller sizes and higher structures. The elastic responses of the rubber melt filled with carbon black remarkably improved, as compared with those of unfilled rubber melt, specially in carbon black showing higher contents of bound rubber. Stress relaxation was more delayed and recovery behavior became more elastic, as the molecular weight of the rubber melt increased and the size of carbon-black particles was decreased. Permanent set became higher, as the molecular weight of the rubber melts decreased and the size of carbon-black particles increased.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.91-96
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• 2011

The design, construction and management of underground facilities as infrastructure of nation should be properly carried out. One of reasons for underground facilitie's failure is a non-proper construction of backfill materials. This is common for circular underground pipes. A non-proper compaction is the cause of settlement and decrease of performance of underground facilities. The use of controlled low strength materials is an alternative to reduce the couple of failure problems. The flowability, self-cementation, and non-compaction are the major advantages to use the controlled low strength materials. In this research, couple of recycled materials, such as in-situ soil, water-treatment sludge, and crumb rubbers, were adopted. The basic properties of each materials were determined according to KS or ASTM. Also, couple of laboratory tests were carried out to get the design parameters for geotechnical and roadway area.