Apart from natural rubber, technical polymers are synthetic materials,
elastomers or plastics, provided by the specialty chemical industry.
The choice of the right material for a given application, possibly
a blend of several materials, then adjustment of the thermomechanical
and/or physico-chemical characteristics by formulation, that is by
using suitable additives, forms the basis of this skill.
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FORMULATION
OF ELASTOMERS |
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For material specifications
For functional specifications, linked with the dimensional design
of parts
Evaluation of new components in the mixes
Compositions have thus been studied for widely varying applications
:
• high and low temperatures,
• fire resistance,
• friction and sliding,
• antivibrating (fatigue, isolation, biomechanical),
• sealing (geology, offshore engineering, storage
and transportation of natural gas) |
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• cellular materials,
• interactions between container and contents (food
and pharmaceutical contact),
• electrical conductivity,
• vulcanization without nitrosamine,
• radiation induced crosslinking and degradation |
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KNOWLEDGE
AND RECOMMENDING THERMOPLASTIC ELASTOMERS, RIGID THERMOPLASTICS
AND THERMOSETS |
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Contrary to the above, these materials
permit the manufacturer fewer possibilities for adjustment of
properties. Knowledge of the available materials must be principally
compared here with a specification.
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ASSOCIATION
OF MATERIALS: STUDY OF INTERFACES AND ADHESION |
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Rubber/rubber
Rubber/metal
Rubber/rigid polymer (thermoplastic or thermoset, composite)
Particular skills have been developed in rubber/rigid polymer
associations, where the latter is used as a structural material
or as a reinforcing filler: alloys, dynamic vulcanization process,
advanced studies of the mechanisms of interfacial cohesion.
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