Aging of Rubber in the Oxygen Bomb at Room Temperature

The work described below was carried out as a first step in determining whether an oxygen-bomb test at room temperature could be used as an accelerated aging test for unvulcanized rubber compositions, e.g., as used on surgical and adhesive plasters and for combining shoe fabrics, because a high-temperature test is unsatisfactory in such cases, owing to the melting of the compositions. The only infallible way of assessing the value of an accelerated test for such compositions is by comparison with natural aging, but as this is a very lengthy process and as the deterioration is difficult to measure quantitatively, it was decided to make preliminary tests on the effect of high oxygen concentration at room temperature by using vulcanized rubber. Although the results proved to be negative so far as the original purpose of the work was concerned, it is considered of interest to place them on record in view of the prominence given in some papers on aging to the relationship between oxygen concentration and rate of oxidation and deterioration of rubber. A mix composed of rubber 100, sulfur 3, zinc oxide 5, stearic acid 1, and diphenylguanidine 0.75, was vulcanized for 30 minutes at 153° C. Tensile tests, using standard ring-specimens and the Schopper machine, were made on unaged specimens and on specimens that had been aged (1) in an oxygen bomb at 300 lb. per sq. in. oxygen pressure and at room temperature (about 10° C), (2) in a Geer oven at 70° C. Four rings were used for each test, the tensile strength and breaking elongation figures quoted being the average for the two rings giving the highest tensile strength, and the figures for the elongations at constant loads the average of all four rings.