Open AccessAging Studies of VCE Dismantlement Returns
Author(s) -
Sonia E. Létant,
C.T. Alviso,
Maximus Pearson,
R F Albo,
Ward Small,
Thomas S. Wilson,
Sarah C. Chinn,
Robert S. Maxwell
Publication year - 2011
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/1035290
Subject(s) - elastomer , vinyl acetate , materials science , ethylene vinyl acetate , curing (chemistry) , copolymer , composite material , ultimate tensile strength , vinyl alcohol , polymer
VCE is an ethylene/vinyl acetate/vinyl alcohol terpolymer binder for filled elastomers which is designed to accept high filler loadings. Filled elastomer parts consist of the binder (VCE), a curing agent (Hylene MP, diphenol-4-4{prime}-methylenebis(phenylcarbamate)), a processing aid (LS, lithium stearate), and filler particles (typically 70% fraction by weight). The curing of the filled elastomer parts occurs from the heat-activated reaction between the hydroxyl groups of VCE with the Hylene MP curing agent, resulting in a cross-linked network. The final vinyl acetate content is typically between 34.9 and 37.9%, while the vinyl alcohol content is typically between 1.27 and 1.78%. Surveillance data for this material is both scarce and scattered, complicating the assessment of any aging trends in systems. In addition, most of the initial surveillance efforts focused on mechanical properties such as hardness and tensile strength, and chemical information is therefore lacking. Material characterization and aging studies had been performed on previous formulations of the VCE material but the Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) starting copolymer is no longer commercially available. New formulations with replacement EVA materials are currently being established and will require characterization as well as updated aging models