Naval Applications of Elastomers

Abstract

Abstract The fact that rubber can be studied in a state of mechanical equilibrium makes it the most fundamentally interesting polymeric material. Elastomers also find wide application both in industry and the military, due to the unique combination of obtainable properties. This short review describes selected uses of rubber by the U.S. Navy on surface vessels, submarines and aircraft. The emphasis is applications which exploit rubber's capacity for energy transmission, storage and dissipation.