Space quality rubber products - Case study with nitrile/butadiene rubber based engine gimbal control system bladder

The rubber bladder constitutes a critical component of the electrohydraulic gimbal control system used in a launch vehicle for controlling trajectory or attitude. The various stages of development of the nitrile/butadiene bas ed rubber bladder are discussed, including modifications and improvements i n the bladder configuration, the base rubber, raw material preparation, mix ing of ingredients, and moulding of the bladder. The use of special charact erisation techniques, i.e. stress relaxation, hysteresis, X-ray inspection, and performance evaluation resulting in space quality rubber bladders is d escribed in detail. PRCPA/1494 (C) 1998 The Institute of Materials.