ARDL’s Chemical Services Laboratory provides Reverse Engineering (Formula Reconstruction) to help customers verify their own compounds as well as those of their competitors. Our laboratory can provide Complete Analysis or Standard Analysis. Standard Analysis provides Ash Content, Carbon Black Content, Density, Extractables Content, Hydrocarbon Content, Polymer Identification, Semi-Quantitative Ash Analysis and Total Sulfur Content. It is a great starting point to understanding the formula of a polymer compound and can be further investigated by Complete Analysis.
| Test Name |
Standard Analysis |
Complete Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| Ash (Fillers) Content |
Included |
Included |
| Carbon Black Content |
Included |
Included |
| Density |
Included |
Included |
| Extractables Content |
Included |
Included |
| Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy (GC/MS) – Qualitative |
$475.00 |
Included |
| Hydrocarbon Content |
Included |
Included |
| Plasticizer Identification |
Consult Lab |
Consult Lab |
| Polymer Identification |
Included |
Included |
| Qualitative Accelerator Analysis |
$850.00 |
$850.00 |
| Qualitative Antioxidant Analysis |
Consult Lab |
Consult Lab |
| Semi-Quantitative Ash Analysis |
Included |
Included |
| Total Sulfur |
Included |
Included |
After all the chemical tests are performed, the data is put into ARDL’s proprietary software which reconstructs the formulation based on 100 parts of base polymer. Minor adjustments to the formulation may be made so that it reflects the actual formulation prior to vulcanization.
There are five columns to the reconstructed formulation: ingredients, phr, extractables, ash and volume. The ingredient column is self-explanatory, whereas phr stands for parts per hundred of rubber. In formulations, the ingredients used are normally given in amounts based on a total of 100 parts of the polymer used (or combination of polymers used). When comparing different recipes, the effects of varying any ingredient used are easily recognized when processing characteristics or physical properties are compared.
The theoretical amount of extractables or ash from each ingredient is placed in the appropriate column and the calculated percentages are compared to the actual values obtained on test samples. Carbon black is treated in the same manner. The numbers in the volume column represent the weight of each ingredient divided by the density of that ingredient. The sum of the weight column divided by the sum of the volume column represents the theoretical density. This is then compared to the density value obtained on the sample as an additional crosscheck to validate the reconstructed formulation.
When completed, the reconstructed formulation offers an excellent starting recipe to begin to develop a material that would have the same physical and chemical characteristics as the sample analyzed. The reconstructed formulation is extremely useful in failure analysis, comparing the chemical makeup of a sample that failed prematurely in service to an acceptable sample.
