Static Sealing Performance in an Application where Environmental Conditions can Result in Degradation: The Effects of Elastomer Compound Composition,Processing and Design

摘要

When one talks about degradation,one generally refers to an irreversible change in a component's properties,related to its material composition and performance in an application.The question then becomes;which properties should be of concern and how much change should be acceptable,related to performance in an application? To be more specific,one needs to understand the changes that are occurring within the composition,and the chemistry that drives those changes.This paper will discuss the changes that occur within a composition as a result of degradation and how those changes can vary throughout the material over the cross-section of the component,which can then affect the performance of the component in an application.Most people assume that degradation is primarily a material issue and that by just testing standard tensile properties,one can estimate the degradation rate and suggest that the component's performance should be comparable.This may not be a valid assumption,and this paper will discuss some of the related concerns.If one looks deeper into the performance capability of a component in an environment,one may begin to realize that it is not just the material composition that defines the capability in an application,but also how it is processed,and its specific design.So if a part fails in an application due to degradation;was it due to its composition;how it was mixed or cured,or due to possible defects in the part;or was it due to a poor design? This paper will try to provide some insight into how you might determine that based on specific test approaches.