Thermal and mechanical interface behaviour of overmoulded vulcanized thermoplastic elastomers

Abstract

International audienceVulcanized thermoplastic elastomers (TPV) are widely used in the automotive industry for the manufacturing of weather seals by overmoulding a TPV on an extrudate TPV. This process is assumed to be a fusion bonding in which the quality of the thermal contact is essential to develop the mechanical strength of the assembly. From a thermal point of view, the contact can be quantified by a thermal contact resistance (TCR) which consider the flux lines constriction and their lengthening. From a mechanical point of view, the contact can be qualified by Double Cantilever Beam tests through the calculation of the critical energy restitution rate. The influence of the overmoulding conditions on the contact thermal resistance value and on the critical energy restitution rate is discussed. A correlation was found between these two quantities