Inelastic response of thermo-oxidatively aged carbon black filled polychloroprene rubber. Part I: Viscoelasticity

• Main Authors: Kittur, M. I., Andriyana, Andri, Ang, Bee Chin, Ch'ng, S. Y., Verron, E.
• Format: Article
• Published: Elsevier Science Inc 2022
• Subjects: TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/41042/

The first part of a two parts study focuses on the inelastic response of carbon black-filled polychloroprene rubber undergoing thermo-oxidative aging. More precisely, the prominence of the present work is laid on the attempt to provide a better understanding of the network modification due to thermo-oxidative aging and its consequences on the macroscopic mechanical responses including viscoelasticity (in Part I) and Mullins effect (in Part II). For this purpose, the polychloroprene rubber specimens are exposed to a temperature of 120 degrees C for a duration of 2, 3, and 4 days to induce three different aging levels before undergoing various tests. Results indicated that during thermo-oxidative aging, crosslinking dominates chain scission, and the strain-induced crystallization becomes more pronounced. Furthermore, it is observed that the inelastic responses such as stress relaxation and strain-induced crystallization are strongly affected by this thermo-oxidative aging-induced network alteration.