Development of elastomeric materials for the manufacture of helicopter parts

Abstract

Introduction. The purpose of this paper is to find a solution to the existing problem in helicopter rotors, due to the demand in the country for spare parts (diaphragm and rubber protector) for their proper functioning, for which a new elastomeric material is developed with the appropriate physical-chemical and mechanical properties for the manufacture of said parts, through a technology that is feasible from a technical, economic, safety and environmental point of view. Methods. Experimental tests are performed using a special cubic centroid-simplex-type mixing design of experiments, ten formulations are studied and eight properties are evaluated, including statistical analysis of the results. An empirical phenomenological model is used for the kinetic study of the vulcanization reaction. Scientific methods of analysis are used. Results. The simplex-special cubic centroid type mixture design permitted the characterization of the influence of TMTD, zinc-aluminum oxide and durez resin, on the properties evaluated. The kinetics of the vulcanization reaction allowed for evaluating the degree of cure of the new material obtained as a function of time, thus obtaining the parameters (k) and (n) that correspond to the speed and the order of the reaction respectively. As some conclusions was the studies of the formulations show the feasibility of the use of Zinc-Aluminum Oxide as they have a positive influence on the properties of rubber mixtures. The model proposed by Kamal-Sourour is adequate to describe the evolution of the curing process. The rheometric curve showed excellent stabilization over time, which results in a good conservation of the properties in practice.