The state-of-cure and property changes of an EPDM hose compound were studied as a function of cure and aging history. Time domain (TD)-NMR was used for tracking changes to the state of cure. Mini DeMattia was used to characterize the changes in cut growth resistance.
TD-NMR is useful also for quality assurance because it is fairly simple and robust. Mini DeMattia is particularly useful when only small samples can be extracted from a molded rubber component.
These techniques were useful for EPDM hose compound. The property changes as a function of cure and aging (air-oven) of the EPDM hose compound were quantified.