Morphological Structure, Rheological Behavior, Mechanical Properties and Sound Insulation Performance of Thermoplastic Rubber Composites Reinforced by Different Inorganic Fillers

The application area of a sound insulation material is highly dependent on the technology adopted for its processing. In this study, thermoplastic rubber (TPR, polypropylene/ethylene propylene diene monomer) composites were simply prepared via an extrusion method. Two microscale particles, CaCO(3) and hollow glass microspheres (HGW) were chosen to not only enhance the sound insulation but also reinforced the mechanical properties. Meanwhile, the processing capability of composites was confirmed. SEM images showed that the CaCO(3) was uniformly dispersed in TPR matrix with ~3 μm scale aggregates, while the HGM was slightly aggregated to ~13 μm scale. The heterogeneous dispersion of micro-scale fillers strongly affected the sound transmission loss (STL) value of composites. The STL values of TPR composites with 40 wt % CaCO(3) and 20 wt % HGM composites were about 12 dB and 7 dB higher than that of pure TPR sample, respectively. The improved sound insulation performances of the composites have been attributed to the enhanced reflection and dissipate sound energy in the heterogeneous composite. Moreover, the mechanical properties were also enhanced. The discontinued sound impedance and reinforced stiffness were considered as crucial for the sound insulation.