Experimental study of the thermal property evolution of EPDM during ablation for thermal protection applications

Experimental study of the thermal property evolution of EPDM during ablation for thermal protection applications | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Experimental study of the thermal property evolution of EPDM during ablation for thermal protection applications Wenbin Li, Liang Ji, Hu Zhang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9297351/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Ablative polymer materials are extensively utilized in the thermal protection applications owing to their elasticity, electrical insulation, gas tightness, and ablation resistance. Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) is one of the promising ablative polymer materials due to their unique ablation resistance and favorable thermomechanical properties. To achieve precision in designing thermal protection structures, the thermal properties of EPDM are indispensable. Current research lacks accurate characterization of the thermal properties of EPDM under ablative conditions. Therefore, in this study, the thermal properties of EPDM elastomer were experimentally characterized before and after ablation. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were adopted to characterize thermal degradation profiles and specific heat capacity over the temperature range of 25 to 600 ℃. The thermal conductivity was measured using the 1D steady-state method on surface-ablated samples over 23–605 ℃ and the transient plane source (TPS) method on bulk-ablated samples over 27–483 ℃. The spectral emissivity of EPDM before and after ablation was determined through the energy balance calibration based on the Fourier transform spectrometer. Results indicate significant degradation and ablation of EPDM at elevated temperatures, accompanied by a decrease in its thermal properties. The underlying mechanisms governing these changes are discussed. EPDM Ablation Specific heat capacity Thermal conductivity Spectral emissivity Experimental study Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 19 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 19 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 06 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 06 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 03 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 03 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 01 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9297351","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":618617243,"identity":"54163382-6406-461f-b711-c136c4b19c3c","order_by":0,"name":"Wenbin Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xi'an Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wenbin","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":618617244,"identity":"96299ffb-208d-4a84-98d0-37c01375780b","order_by":1,"name":"Liang Ji","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The 210th Institute of the Sixth Academy of CASIC","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Liang","middleName":"","lastName":"Ji","suffix":""},{"id":618617245,"identity":"bfd799d2-2ee1-4523-a4a9-b149e9b0c8b9","order_by":2,"name":"Hu Zhang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA2klEQVRIie3RIQvCQBTA8SfCrUysN8b0K0wWVPZl7jBccWaDjkvXxKrfwmjcGNzKxLqoZU2wGhQ3NW9nE7x/eeX94I4HoNP9YC4AqmYPIKpmW514AMmXhPL3tgIZYlacbvsl28VHiWHuU24coloy3hA2WGVpsOUJwpAxys0ZqX9YTiTuCBmsoSQtkVCOTbeBUGHdhWToRR5KZILsjliQ7otwFZIVyHZENCj/4o2IZJ4wpw0kZYV1EWHfzeNzfl34ztrI6smn8ow4AiDwOZNCIUCXK+7qdDrd3/UEyatGDS4UE4AAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Xi'an Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hu","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-02 03:08:42","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9297351/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9297351/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106960040,"identity":"41a457d8-dcce-4cd5-b868-806849c6264f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-15 09:18:09","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":831366,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9297351/v1_covered_ae076f8b-0042-4e5c-b1ef-88db92ab8323.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Experimental study of the thermal property evolution of EPDM during ablation for thermal protection applications","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"international-journal-of-thermophysics","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"ijot","sideBox":"Learn more about [International Journal of Thermophysics](http://link.springer.com/journal/10765)","snPcode":"10765","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10765/3","title":"International Journal of Thermophysics","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"EPDM, Ablation, Specific heat capacity, Thermal conductivity, Spectral emissivity, Experimental study","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9297351/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9297351/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eAblative polymer materials are extensively utilized in the thermal protection applications owing to their elasticity, electrical insulation, gas tightness, and ablation resistance. Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) is one of the promising ablative polymer materials due to their unique ablation resistance and favorable thermomechanical properties. To achieve precision in designing thermal protection structures, the thermal properties of EPDM are indispensable. Current research lacks accurate characterization of the thermal properties of EPDM under ablative conditions. Therefore, in this study, the thermal properties of EPDM elastomer were experimentally characterized before and after ablation. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were adopted to characterize thermal degradation profiles and specific heat capacity over the temperature range of 25 to 600 ℃. The thermal conductivity was measured using the 1D steady-state method on surface-ablated samples over 23\u0026ndash;605 ℃ and the transient plane source (TPS) method on bulk-ablated samples over 27\u0026ndash;483 ℃. The spectral emissivity of EPDM before and after ablation was determined through the energy balance calibration based on the Fourier transform spectrometer. Results indicate significant degradation and ablation of EPDM at elevated temperatures, accompanied by a decrease in its thermal properties. 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