Improved Mechanical Properties and Ozone Resistance of Radiation Cured SBR.

摘要

This report is a continuation and extension of the work of the earlier Army contract, where the superiority of the electron beam cured styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) tank pads to the sulfur cured pads was demonstrated. The focus of the present study is the investigation of the extraordinary ozone resistance of our radiation cured SBR, and also on possible alternatives for SBR, butadiene rubber (BR) in particular, as a tank pad compound. Base formulations of a fully sulfur cured system were established with 5% reproducibility, and results were confirmed by mechanical properties measurements on identical formulations from Belvoir Research Development and Engineering Center (BRDEC). Constant mechanical properties as a function of exposure to ozone indicate either competitive cross-linking and scissioning reactions or a 'protective' effect caused by higher terminal vinyl concentrations in the radiation cured formulations.