Butyl Rubber-Based Composite: Thermal Degradation and Prediction of Service Lifetime

Abstract

Butyl rubber-based composite (BRC) is one of the most popular materials for the fabrication of protective gloves against chemical and mechanical risks. However, in many workplaces, such as metal manufacturing or automotive mechanical services, its mechanical hazards usually appear together with metalworking fluids (MWFs). The presence of these contaminants, particularly at high temperatures, could modify its properties due to the scission, the plasticization and the crosslinking of the polymer network and thus lead to severe modification of the mechanical and physicochemical properties of material. This work aims to determine the effect of temperature and a metalworking fluid on the mechanical behavior of butyl rubber composite, dealing with crosslinking density, cohesion forces and the elastic constant of BRC, based on Mooney–Rivlin’s theory. The effect of temperature with and without MWFs on the thermo-dynamical properties and morphology of butyl membranes was also investigated. The prediction of service lifetime was then evaluated from the extrapolation of the Arrhenius plot at different temperatures.