Preparation And Properties Of EPDM/SBR Foams

Rubber foam is a porous material which has a unique structure. There is great demand for the use of rubber foam in damping, acoustic, thermal insulation and so on. However, the application of foams was limited because of the poor wear resistance. Thus, it is of great significance to develop new rubber foams with properties of low density, softness, anti-abrasion and slip-resistance. In this paper, rubber foam materials were prepared using ethylene-propylene-diene-terpolymer rubber(EPDM) and butadiene styrene rubber(SBR) by a melt-blending method. The effects of compatibility, blending proportion, foaming agent, curing agent, filler and plasticizer on the properties of EPDM/SBR foams were discussed.The ingredient and process of EPDM foaming system were studied. Influence of formulation factors such as foaming agent, crosslink agent, accelerator, active agent, filler, silicone rubber, and process factors such as foaming temperature and foaming time on the physical properties of foamed EPDM materials were discussed. The foaming formulations and process of EPDM were optimized. Finally, the EPDM foams could obtained good wear resistance and mechanical properties.Foamed materials of EPDM/SBR composite rubber were prepared by a melt-blending method. Firstly, the compatibility and co-cure of EPDM/SBR were characterizated by a dynamic mechanical analysis(DMA) and a rheometer. The results showed that a relatively co-continuous morphology was observed for 70:30 of EPDM/SBR blend. Blends prepared by using sulfur and dicumyl peroxide as the vulcanizing agent showed good co-curing behavior. Secondly, the effects of blending proportion, foaming agent, filler, plasticizer on the foam structure and mechanical properties of the composite foams were investigated. The foaming formulations and process of EPDM/SBR were optimized. Microtopography of EPDM/SBR foams was observed by Scanning Electron Microscope. And physical properties of EPDM/SBR foams were characterizated by desktop tensile strength tester and DIN tester. The results showed that, the EPDM/SBR foamed materials could obtained good physical properties, high abrasion and excellent slip-resistance with the conditions of 70 phr EPDM and 30 phr SBR and 0.9phr vulcanizing agent and 2phr foaming agent and 10 phr filler and 2phr plasticizer.In this paper, a kind of method of lightweight rubber composite foam materials with excellent abrasion resistance and slip-resistance was established. The method provides a reference for industrialized production of foams.