High-performance rubbers

Reinforcement of elastomers by colloidal fillers, like carbon black or silica, plays an important role in the improvement of mechanical properties of high performance rubber materials. The reinforcing potential is mainly attributed to two effects ... 

Increased use of thermoplastic rubbers and high-performance rubbers... 

The use of cleaner high-performance rubbers (e.g. fluorocarbons and halobutyls) is also expected to continue to grow at the expense of the diene type mbbers. The pressure to ensure ever higher margins of food safety is one reason and the demand for owners of food processing plants for increased time between failures is another. Although there are initial cost implications. 

Carbon black (c.b.) plays an important role in the improvement of the mechanical and/or electrical properties of high performance rubber materials. The reinforcing potential is mainly attributed to two effects (i) the formation of a physically bonded flexible filler network and (ii) strong polymer filler couplings. Both of these effects refer to a high surface activity and specific surface of the filler particles [1-3],... 

Fluoroelastomers are fluorine containing hydrocarbon polymers with a saturated structure obtained by polymerizing fluorinated monomers such as vinylidene fluoride, hexafluoroprene, and tetrafluoroethylene. The result is a high performance rubber with exceptional resistance to oils and chemicals at elevated temperatures. 

K. Wieczorek, Presented at the Rapra, High Performance Rubbers Conference, Berlin, Germany, 2000, Paper No. 10. 

This article explores developments in automotive hoses, which require expensive high-performance rubbers, especially in air conditioning units and fuel systems where more aggressive fluids are being used. 

The world production of polyurethane was about 16 billion pounds per year in 2010 to make PUR products in rubber, plastics, adhesives, sealants, fabrics, coatings, and both rigid and flexible foams. Over one-half of all polyurethane production goes into the manufacture of foam. Of that quantity, one-half is used to make flexible foam while the remainder is used to produce rigid foam. However, only about 800 million pounds of this production is used globally for high-performance rubber applications. 

Q.-X. Jia, Y.-P. Wu, Y.-L. Xu, H.-H. Mao, and L.-Q. Zhang. Combining in-situ organic modification of montmorillonite and the latex compounding method to prepare high-performance rubber-montmorillonite nanocomposites. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, 291 (2006), 218-226. 

Vernon J. Kylhngstad and Clark J. Cable, Lead-ETU Free Curing Polyepichlorohydrin Rubber Compounds, Zeon Chemicals publication PH 500.1, presented at the Specialty and High Performance Rubber Conference, September 9-12, 1992, RAPRA Technology Limited, Shawhuty, Shropshire, England. 

Versollan TPU are second-generation high-performance rubberized TPU elastomer alloys that rank as some of the softest in their class at 45 Shore A. Made of specialty TPU from BASF Corp., Wyandotte, these alloys serve as handles and grips for hand and power tools, lawn and garden equipment, and recreational gears. They offer a balance of softness and high performance, and fast set-up rates relative to non-alloyed TPU. 

Fig. 3. Two routes to rubber/resin tapes 1, Traditional calender-mill and 2, solution polymer method for high performance tape.

As stated above, high performance coatings based on epoxies, vinyls or chlorinated rubbers are used almost exclusively on all large ships. A general development in these materials has been the introduction of highly thixotropic types that can be airless sprayed at wet film thicknesses of 300 im or more, that do not run or sag on vertical surfaces. This enables the requisite film thickness to be applied in fewer coats, saving time and reducing application costs. 

Report 86 High Performance Engineering Plastics, D.J. Kemmish, Victrex Ltd. Report 113 Rubber-Modified Thermoplastics, H. Keskkula, University of Texas at Austin. 

The reinforcement of rubbers using nylon, rayon, vinyl, and polyester fibers was reported by various authors [10,58,73-75]. Because of the design flexibility and suitable end-use applications, high-performance fibers such as glass, carbon, and aramid also find extensive applications in short fiber-reinforced mbbers. A brief description of some of the major high-performance fibers commonly used in short fiber-rubber composites is given below ... 

Proper reinforcement of rubber matrix using hllers can be achieved only if there exists adequate adhesion between the hller and the mbber. Rubber-mbber adhesion and rubber-hller adhesion both without and with adhesion promoters have been studied extensively [125-127]. Fiber-matrix adhesion in short fiber-rubber composites is always a field of extensive research. If the fibers are not bonded properly with the rubber matrix, fibers will shde past each other under tension deforming the matrix, thereby reducing the strength properties. In the case of short fiber-reinforced rubber composites, loads are not directly applied to the fibers, but are apphed to the matrix. To obtain a high-performance composite, the load must be effectively transferred to the fibers, which is possible only when the fiber-matrix interphase is sufficiently strong. In addition, the adhesion between the fiber and the matrix should be such that the failure occurs in the matrix rather than at the interphase [92]. 

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