The Effect of Plasticizers on Vibration Damping in Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Formulations

The ability of various plasticizers to impact the vibration damping properties of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastisols was investigated. A material must have good viscoelastic properties in order for it to be an effective vibration damper. However, it is evident that not all viscoelastic materials are good vibration dampers. Consider flexible (plasticized) PVC, for example. PVC formulations demonstrating the same glass transition temperature may have widely different damping capabilities. This presentation will show that the type of plasticizer substantially impacts the damping ability of the final PVC composite. Initially, flexible PVC formulations with varied plasticizers were screened via dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) to determine which ones would likely have good damping properties. Formulations which exhibited promising results with DMTA were then tested via an Oberst bar damping test (SAE J1637). Final observations showed that specific plasticizers do promote vibration damping in PVC systems. End use applications for this technology could include PVC plastisols for automotive floor pans and body panels. This presentation will include test results (DMTA and Oberst bar), discussion of correlations between the test results, and some conclusions.