Fatigue crack propagation Investigating the effect of antioxidants on the fatigue crack propagation behavior of filled SBR compounds

摘要

The study of fatigue crack propagation in elastomers is of major importance, especially for the tire industry, to improve and also estimate the product's durability. In the past many authors, by means of various fatigue crack propagation tests,1 evaluated factors that affect fatigue crack growth in rubbers. Among the factors that affect the growth rate they identified the polymer type (natural rubber versus synthetic rubbers), mechanical loading parameters (frequency, waveform, loading ratio), fillers, temperature and thermal aging.16 However, to the authors' knowledge none of those studies mentioned the influence of antioxidants, even though they play a critical role as chemical products in the rubber formulation of industrial parts that are often exposed to self-heating, such as tires and anti-vibration components.