How to enhance the performance of water resistant silicone rubber products
The purity of the filler and the amount of catalyst residue have great influence on the purity of the filler. In order to improve the steam resistance of silicone products / silicone rubber products, can be used to increase the crosslinking density and the hydrophobic filler method in silica raw material formulation, but should try to avoid the silicone rubber / silicone products using high pressure water vapor over 2MPa under. With this characteristic, the co vulcanizate of siloxane ethylene propylene rubber blends is the best.
Steam can also reduce the performance of silicone rubber / silicone products, essentially the fracture of the backbone. The hydrolysis fracture reaction becomes apparent due to the increase of temperature and the presence of ionic reagents.
In general, silicone rubber is almost free from the influence of free steam and moisture without pressure. The same is true when the steam is under low or moderate pressure. However, as the vapor pressure rises, the impact on the mechanical properties of the rubber becomes larger. Therefore, silicone rubber is not recommended for long-term use in situations where steam is more than 50psi.
