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DOE OSTI · 1150657

Sylgard® Mixing Study

Abstract

Sylgard® 184 and Sylgard® 186 silicone elastomers form Dow Corning® are used as potting agents across the Nuclear Weapons Complex. A standardized mixing procedure is required for filled versions of these products. The present study is a follow-up to a mixing study performed by MST-7 which established the best mixing procedure to use when adding filler to either 184 or 186 base resins. The most effective and consistent method of mixing resin and curing agent for three modified silicone elastomer recipes is outlined in this report. For each recipe, sample size, mixing type, and mixing time was varied over 10 separate runs. The results show that the THINKY™ Mixer gives reliable mixing over varying batch sizes and mixing times. Hand Mixing can give improved mixing, as indicated by reduced initial viscosity; however, this method is not consistent.

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Bello, Mollie, Welch, Cynthia F., Goodwin, Lynne Alese, Keller, Jennie. 2014-08-22. Sylgard® Mixing Study. https://doi.org/10.2172/1150657

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗