Improving Degradation Resistance of Cured Rubber Compounds

Hot air aging and heat aging resistance are becoming very important today, especially in automotive applications where “under-the-hood” operating temperatures have been increasing and there is more pressure from automotive manufacturers to have rubber parts that last longer (part of the move toward a 150,000-mile car warranty!). Anaerobic heat aging resistance can be quite different from hot air aging resistance. For example, a rubber compound might possess good reversion resistance (anaerobic), yet still be subject to oxidative attack (or vice versa). The type of aging properties that a cured rubber compound possesses is very important in determining how that compound will be classified in accordance with SAE J200/ASTM D2000 for automotive applications.