An experimental set-up to analyse the oxygen consumption of elastomers during ageing by using a differential oxygen analyser

Ageing of polymers becomes more and more important. This can be seen by the increasing number of research projects dealing with this topic. However, the influence of oxygen on changes in the mechanical performance is undisputable and important with respect to the lifetime of polymer products. Therefore, a respirometer offers the potential to detect the smallest amounts of oxygen changes in the polymers' ambient air. It will be used to analyse the oxygen consumption of rubber which is exposed for different times to elevated temperatures. In this contribution, virgin rubber samples are aged for various times in a sealed chamber at temperatures of 60, 80 and 100A degrees C. The decline of the oxygen concentration in the ambient air is measured by flushing the chamber with dried and cleaned air which is conducted into the respirometer. The oxygen concentration is compared with that in a reference chamber, which is exposed to the same ageing conditions as the sample under investigation. The absorbed oxygen is relevant for ageing and a considerable factor for further investigations. For this reason, an experimental set-up using a differential oxygen analyser is developed, which allows for ageing several samples simultaneously in external climate chambers. The comparison of the change in the mechanical material behaviour after ageing can provide an important contribution for improving constitutive models or ongoing researches on the fatigue strength of polymers. This work shows the development of an improved method for combining mechanical testing and the measurement of oxygen consumption.