THE DYNAMIC-MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF CARBON-BLACK FILLED EPDM PARALLEL AND SERIES MODELS

The mechanical, elastic and viscoelastic properties of an elastomer are affected by the addition of carbon black. Incorporation of carbon black into an elastomeric matrix increases tensile strength, the complex dynamic modulus and hysteresis among other properties. Dynamic mechanical properties of elastomers filled with polymeric and non-polymeric fillers can be described in terms of certain mechanical models proposed by Takayanagi. In the case of a two-component series model, equations have been developed to predict the individual strain in each phase when testing under position control. Utilizing the loss modulus and the square of the dynamic strain amplitude of each phase, it is possible to calculate the hysteresis in each section. Based on the assumption that the model hysteresis is a weighted average of individual hysteretic contributions, the energy loss per cycle of the series model may be predicted. This approach is also utilized in the case of a two-component parallel model.