Validation of the Use of SEBS Blends as a Substitute for Liquid Silicone Rubber in Injection Processes

Abstract

Liquid silicone rubber is an interesting material at an industrial level, but there are great difficulties in the design and machining of molds, and in addition, it cannot be processed using conventional equipment. Therefore, new lines of research have focused on the search for new materials capable of providing final properties similar to liquid silicone rubber, that can also be engineered using simple, conventional processes and machinery. In this investigation, a range of compatible blends, based on two commercial grades of styrene-b-ethyleneco-butylene-bstyrene (SEBS) thermoplastic elastomer, was studied in order to obtain a range of different Shore A hardness blends for industrial applications where liquid silicone rubber (different hardness) is currently used. The two blended elastomers used had widely differing Shore A hardness values (5 and 90). Once the blended materials had been characterized, the Cross and Williams et al.[20] (Cross-WLF) mathematical model was applied in order to obtain theoretical performance curves for the viscosity of each of the blends. After this, a model was developed using the Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) software package Autodesk Moldflow 2012TM. This computer modeling validated the results obtained from the mathematical models, thus making available to process engineers the full range of hardnesses necessary for industrial products (where liquid silicone rubber is used), while still providing the advantages of thermoplastic injection molding.

Development of hot embossing stamps with conformal cooling channels for microreplication

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Injection molding and shear‐induced stress simulation of poly (styrene‐ethylene‐butylene‐styrene) and polypropylene blends

“…36 By using algorithms such as least square method 37 and finite difference method, 38 the experimental data of the polymer melt can be fitted to the Cross-WLF model, the parameters of the rheological model can be determined, and then Moldflow can be used for injection simulation. Ju arez et al 39 used two commercial SEBS mixtures to fit the Cross-WLF model according to the shear viscosity curve, simulated their injection filling characteristics, and verified the accuracy through experiments. Kim et al 40 used Moldflow to predict the residual stress in the injectionmolded polystyrene board, and evaluate the residual stress by the incremental drilling method, which verified the consistency between the simulation results and the experiment.…”

Poly‐cardanol as plasticizer and compatibilizer on styrene butadiene rubber with improved processability and silica dispersion

“…Ultimately, the shortage of rubber resources causes researcher's attention. Developing a good and inexpensive materials used in rubber industry is one of the key ways to solve the shortage of rubber resources and one of the main issues for sustainable development 5 …”

“…Developing a good and inexpensive materials used in rubber industry is one of the key ways to solve the shortage of rubber resources and one of the main issues for sustainable development. 5 Renewable vegetable oils are widely distributed in nature and are obtained by extracting from fruits, seeds and germ of plants. 6 Over the decades, through the tireless efforts of researchers, vegetable oils and their derivatives have been widely used in the production of biodiesel, 7 lubricants, 8 surfactants, 9 polymeric materials, 10 and other fields.…”