Relating Tensile Properties of Improved UV Cure Heat Resistant Coatings and Thermogravimetric Data

Heat resistant UV cure coatings for optical fibers and other applications are desirable for many uses; monitoring well drilling, under-hood automotive cable applications, and others [1,2]. In prior papers and reports, the authors have shown the formulation of improved UV cure heat resistant coatings, and they have determined comparative sets of thermodegradation kinetic parameters by assorted thermogravimetric methods, and analytical treatments of the data. These degradation kinetic parameters are important for both formulating chemists and design engineers. It was also shown that the degradation of solid-film crosslinked networks of these new coatings are a complex of numerous reactions whose rates may vary both as exposure temperatures rise and as exposure durations become longer as is consistent with the literature [3,4]. Another difficulty in gauging long term durability of coatings in harsh environments is matching calculated degradation rate constants from particular accelerated testing methods with actual in-field performance at the intended service temperatures. In the present work the authors study the tensile properties of cured compositions by various methods to determine how they may relate to thermal degradation weight loss. In these efforts a method has been developed to study the important properties of tensile modulus and elongation at elevated service temperatures to better estimate the “real life” performance and durability of these improved UV cure coatings.