Problems of Controlling the Rheological Behavior of Thermoplastic Vulcanizates

Abstract

Problems of the rheological behavior of thermoplastic vulcanizates prepared by dynamic vulcanization in the basis of polypropylene and the ternary ethylene–propylene–diene elastomer are considered. It has been shown that the nature of a vulcanizing system and the molecular structure of polypropylene are the most important factors influencing the rheological behavior of the studied materials. The use of an oil-extended elastomer enables the creation of processable blends containing up to 70 wt % of the rubber phase. The partial replacement of the elastomer by rubber powder leads to a decrease in the viscosity of the materials containing up to 50 wt % of the elastomer even without a plasticizer.