To investigate the aging performance and storage lifetime of rubber materials used in flexible joint elastomers for solid rocket engines, a compression permanent deformation was used as the performance evaluation index to conduct aging tests on the elastic specimens of joint rubber materials at different temperatures. The results showed that the compression permanent deformation increased with the aging time and temperature, and the value of compression permanent deformation was greater in the initial stage of aging than in the later stage. Based on the regularity of material aging performance, the storage lifetime of rubber materials at room temperature of 25°C is extrapolated to be approximately 17.35 years through the linear equation of aging kinetics. Given that the aging mechanism remains unchanged, the calculation based on the principle of time-temperature equivalence reveals that as the aging temperature of the rubber material increases, the accelerated aging time to reach the regular storage lifetime becomes faster. Aging for 11.25 days at 140°C is equivalent to storing for this rubber material 15 years at 25°C. This research provides references for the future design, manufacturing, maintenance, and storage reliability of flexible joints.
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