This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 0095244309105248v1 41/5/415    most recent References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Qamar, S.Z. Articles by Marketz, F. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Mechanical Testing and Characterization of a Swelling Elastomer

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 33, Al-Khoudh 123, Oman, sayyad{at}squ.edu.om

S.A. Al-Hiddabi

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 33, Al-Khoudh 123, Oman

T. Pervez

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 33, Al-Khoudh 123, Oman

F. Marketz

New Technology and Projects, Petroleum Development Oman, Oman

Elastomers are being increasingly used for sealing and other applications in the oil and gas industry. Specifically developed elastomers possess durable properties and have the ability to withstand detrimental effects of heat, chemicals, and harsh environments. For successful modeling and simulation of various downhole processes, it is very important to determine the behavior of elastomer materials under realistic well conditions. Of special interest is the class known as swelling elastomers. This article reports some results from experiments conducted on mechanical testing and characterization of an inert (nonswelling) and a water-swelling elastomer (both belonging to the EPDM family) used for sealing purposes by a local petroleum development firm. Experiments were designed and conducted in accordance with standard ASTM test methods. Apart from regularly available testing equipment, some simple test rigs and fixtures were designed and fabricated. Elastomer behavior was tested for hardness, compression set (at different temperatures and for different periods of time), tensile set (for different periods of time), tensile properties (fracture strength and percent elongation), and swelling. In the swelling test, different sample geometries (unconfined samples and samples mounted on steel plate) were tested for a total duration of 1000 h (roughly 45 days) in salt solutions of different concentrations and at different temperatures. Results show that compression set increases with increasing temperature and testing time, while room temperature tensile set also increases with longer testing time. Compared to the inert elastomer (exhibiting nonlinear elastic behavior like normal rubbers), swelling elastomer surprisingly showed linear stress—strain response. As expected, the inert elastomer did not exhibit any change in volume, while the swelling elastomer showed significant volume/thickness increase with increasing test temperature and decreasing salt concentration.

Key Words: inert and water-swelling elastomer • material characterization • hardness • compression set • tensile set • tensile properties • volume change • thickness change.

This version was published on September 1, 2009

Journal of Elastomers and Plastics, Vol. 41, No. 5, 415-431 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0095244309105248


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?