Analysis of swelling of crosslinked rubber gel with occlusions

摘要

AbstractThe contribution of the occluded polystyrene in the crosslinked rubber gel to the overall swelling has been determined theoretically and experimentally. Theoretical calculation consists of modification of the Flory–Rehner equation. The equation describes the swelling of a crosslinked polymer network in the presence of a solvent. Calculation procedures are discussed which enable one to determined the crosslink density (molecular weight between crosslinks) of the rubber network from experimentally determined swelling index and gel measurements. The inverse calculation procedure is also described. That is, knowing the crosslink density and the amount of occlusions as determined from kinetic considerations, one can calculate the swelling index. Theoretically and experimentally determined swelling index are in excellent agreemen