Effect of ionizing radiation on mechanical and damping properties of phenyl‐vinyl‐methyl‐polysiloxane elastomers cured with platinum

Abstract

In this study, phenyl‐vinyl‐methyl‐polysiloxane (PVMQ) elastomers were cured with a Pt catalyst and irradiated with different doses (0–80 kGy) using electron beams. Before irradiation studies, rheological analyses were carried out for the three different Platinum‐A (PtA)/Platinum‐B (PtB) ratios by using a Moving Die Rheometer. End of rheological and mechanical analyses 1/2 PtA/PtB ratio was chosen for irradiation studies. To examine the effect of absorbed dose on the mechanical properties of platinum‐cured PVMQ (Pt‐PVMQ) elastomers, stress–strain behavior, stress relaxation, and energy‐damping behavior at static conditions were investigated by cyclic compression analyses. The effect of absorbed dose on the stiffness, permanent deformation, and crosslink densities of Pt‐PVMQ elastomers was also examined. For the identification of the effect of irradiation on the vibration‐damping properties of Pt‐PVMQ elastomers, dynamic mechanical properties were investigated by using an elastomer testing system, and variation of transmissibility, stiffness, and tan delta values with frequency were examined. As a result of this study, the effect of ionizing radiation on the mechanical and dynamic properties of PVMQ elastomer cured with platinum catalyst has been revealed, and it has been shown that some of these properties can be altered with ionizing radiation. The results obtained in this study also showed that Pt‐PVMQ elastomers have higher damping properties than the damping behavior of Pt‐VMQ elastomers, and these Pt‐PVMQ elastomers can be defined as high damping systems.