Abstract
The tensile strength (TS) and elongation-at-break (EB) loss of a CR/CB rubber composite sample prepared for the automotive parts were measured after accelerated thermal ageing at temperatures of 100, 120, 140, and $150^{\circ}C$. The change in TS was observed to be linear from the master curve prepared using the time-temperature superposition-principle (TTSP). An Arrhenius type of shift factor, $a_T$ was used to predict the life time of the sample, and a plot of ln $a_T$ vs. 1/T was also shown to be linear. The activation energy ($E_a$) of the sample was calculated as 70.30 kJ/mole from the Arrhenius plot. The expected life time of the sample was predicted at the given operating conditions by applying Arrhenius analysis. Assuming the $E_a$ value was constant at lower operating condition, life time of the sample was calculated as 2.3 years when the life limit was set as time to reach the 20% decrease of the initial TS value at operating temperature of $40^{\circ}C$.