Higher tear strength of EPDM/SBR/TPR composites foam based on double foaming system

Abstract

Polymeric foam with lightweight and higher impact strength has been used in many fields due to cost reduction and higher toughness. However, it is often difficult to improve their mechanical property especially tear strength. Here, a double foaming system was designed to increase the tear strength of the foamed ethylene–propylene–diene monomer, styrene–butadiene rubber, and thermoplastic rubber (EPDM/SBR/TPR) materials. The cell size of EPDM/SBR/TPR foam and cell distribution were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, which showed that the cells present a bimodal structure. Besides, the tear strength can reach up to 10 N/mm when the density is about 0.40 g/cm3, which is much superior to those of most engineering plastic foams. Meanwhile, the crystallization property of EPDM/SBR/TPR foams was also demonstrated by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry, which indicates that the double foaming system can reduce the crystallization of EPDM/SBR/TPR molecular chains. In addition, the variation of thermal conductivity values depends on the gradual decrease effect of the cell size.