Research Of Wide Vulcanized EPDM Rubber Membrane Processing Equipment And Production Technology

The ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM) curing membrane is one type of excellent waterproof material, which has excellent resistance to ozone, ultraviolet ray ageing resistance performance, high tensile strength, large elongation rate, wide temperature range, strong puncture resistant ability and well adapted to the base expansion or cracking deformation. Due to the limitation of the extrusion and continuous vulcanization equipment, the width of EPDM waterproofing membrane is generally only 1.2m. In the construction process, because the EPDM is a non-polarity material, cracks occur in the bonding areas during the overlaps adopted to the rubber material or self-adhesive tape bonding construction. The disadvantage of the more overlapping and low efficiency in the process of construction, and water leakage caused poor quality project, has restricted the application of this type of materials.In this article, EPDM vulcanize coiled membrane were manufactured on a press vulcanizer using non-vulcanized EPDM rubber as intermediate as a new technology, which is originated in china. Various pressure, temperature and curing time were tested and compared. The best comprehensive vulcanization performance of vulcanized optimal width coiled materials was realized with a combination of process parameters, i.e., curing pressure (2.0 MPa), temperature (200℃) and time (360 sec).In this article, various aspects, such as the general structure, heating control, hydraulic transmission, and safety protection, etc., were investigated with referring to the principles of press vulcanizer and setting a specification of 13-meter width. A set of processing equipments were designed and developed for manufacturing of rolls of this width. EPDM vulcanize coiled membrane were manufactured with a length of up to 13 meters and a width of up to 60 meters via vulcanized joint width prefabrication. Application of this material will reduce the lap seams of sheets signifantly, lower the risk of potential leakage during usage, and improve the on-site construction efficiency.Based on GB standards, this article determined the testing methods and specifications of product properties, and established the corresponding construction technique. As proven, the developed wide EPDM vulcanize coiled membrane feature large single size, reliable quality, long service life, and convenience and rapidness during construction, etc., and can be widely used in the liner waterproof systems of specific projects such as ponds and garbage disposal plants.