Investigation of the factors affecting the rheological and mechanical properties of ethylene propylene diene rubber compound in peroxide vulcanization system

Rubber materials are important engineering materials that are used in daily life such as in the automotive sector, aviation, construction, electronics, textile, manufacturing white goods and machine, agriculture, clothing and health sectors. Thanks to their high flexibility, high strength, good dynamic properties, resistance to tearing and abrasion, lightness, easy to process, low deformation and spreading, rubbers provide the opportunity to be used in all areas of industry. Ethylene propylene diene rubber is a type of synthetic rubber that is widely used due to its low density, high resistance to heat, oxygen, ozone and weather conditions, very good elastic properties at low temperatures, high filler and oil absorption capacity, and the possibility of preparing economical mixtures. Fillers, chemicals and properties of raw rubber used in EPDM rubber compound have important role in determining the mechanical properties of the final products. In this thesis work, the effects of diene content of EPDM raw rubbers and the amount of peroxide and coagent in the rubber compound on the mechanical properties of EPDM rubbers were investigated. EPDM rubber compound with different formulations were prepared and their rheological properties were examined. Prepared rubber compound were vulcanized in a laboratory scale compression press at 185 °C for 15 minutes and test plates were prepared. Tensile test, tear strength test, compression test and measure of hardness were done on the prepared test plates. Effects of dien ratio, amount of peroxide and coagent in the rubber compund were compared on mechanical properties. Keywords: Rubber, EPDM, Diene, Coagent, Peroxide, Mechanical properties.