Abstract
Rheological, mechanical and dynamic mechanical thermal properties of gum and filled acrylate rubber (ACM), fluoro rubber (FKM) and their blends were studied. The systems exhibited pseudo plastic flow behaviour. The shear viscosity of the blends decreased with higher concentration of ACM. There was little effect of temperature on the viscosity of the blends at different shear rates. Addition of filler to the 50/50 (w/w) ACM/FKM blend increased the shear viscosity. The equilibrium die swell decreased with increasing loading of carbon black and was affected by the filler type. A linear generalized relationship was obtained between die swell and maximum recoverable deformation. The activation energy of the melt flow process decreased with an increase in shear rate for all the gum and filled systems except neat ACM, where there was a slight increase in activation energy. The mechanical properties of the filled compounds improved linearly with filler loading. Tan δ peak temperature did not change with filler loading although the values of tan δmaximum decreased. The storage modulus of the blends increased with increasing filler loading, indicating the presence of polymer filler interactions.