Data underlying the publication: Tires for Mars Rovers: Reinforcing BR and BR/Vinyl-Methyl Silicone Rubber Compounds with Carbon Black, Nano-CaCO3, or Silica for Good Low-Temperature Dynamic-Mechanical Performance

<em>Reserach data used in the following publication:</em><strong>Tires for Mars Rovers: Reinforcing BR and BR/Vinyl-Methyl Silicone Rubber Compounds with Carbon Black, Nano-CaCO3, or Silica for Good Low-Temperature Dynamic-Mechanical Performance</strong><em>Abstract:</em>Dynamic increment in Mars exploration missions necessitates the development of new materials that can satisfy the ever more stringent requirements. Currently, most of the materials used for manufacturing Mars rovers and landers are based on various metal alloys that provide high reliability in the Martian environment. However, the future planned missions, including the first human crew landing on Mars, require the development of new rubber materials that could be used for sealing Mars suits, for tires/tracks, and for damping systems for heavy Mars rovers. This research aims to investigate the properties of butadiene rubber (BR) and butadiene/vinyl-methyl silicone rubber blends (BR/VMQ) filled with various reinforcing fillers: carbon blacks (CBs), silicas, and nanometric calcium carbonate (nano-CaCO₃), in order to evaluate their performance from the point of view of Mars' environmental applications. The study revealed that the designed composites exhibit very good low-temperature elasticity, and the addition of 30 phr of high surface area CB (N220) or silica (Ultrasil 9100) results in good mechanical properties of the compounds. The mechanical properties of the BR/VMQ blends depend on the type of reinforcing filler. The addition of the CBs resulted in better mechanical properties, while the incorporation of silicas worsens the mechanical properties of BR/VMQ blends in comparison to their BR counterparts. The high-cis BR grade exhibits a strong tendency to crystallize in the operating temperature range on Mars (crystallization ∼−60 °C, melting ∼−20 °C), and the addition of the fillers nucleates the crystallization, resulting in a higher amount of the crystalline phase. This might be a serious problem for any sealing application of the rubber compounds. For this reason, a non-crystallizable BR grade is recommended for further studies.

<em>本数据集用于以下发表研究成果：</em><strong>《火星漫游车轮胎：使用炭黑、纳米碳酸钙（Nano-CaCO₃）或二氧化硅补强丁二烯橡胶（BR）与丁二烯/乙烯基甲基硅橡胶（VMQ）复合材料，以实现优异的低温动态力学性能》</strong><em>摘要：</em>火星探测任务的动态增长需求推动了可满足愈发严苛要求的新型材料开发。当前，用于制造火星漫游车与着陆器的多数材料为各类金属合金，可在火星环境中提供高可靠性。然而，未来规划的任务——包括人类首次载人登陆火星——亟需开发新型橡胶材料，可用于火星舱外服密封、轮胎/履带，以及重型火星漫游车的阻尼系统。本研究旨在探究以炭黑（CBs）、二氧化硅及纳米碳酸钙（nano-CaCO₃）等补强填料填充的丁二烯橡胶（BR）与丁二烯/乙烯基甲基硅橡胶共混物（BR/VMQ）的性能，从火星环境应用的角度评估其综合表现。研究结果表明，所设计的复合材料展现出优异的低温弹性；添加30 phr高比表面积炭黑（N220）或二氧化硅（Ultrasil 9100）时，复合材料可获得良好的力学性能。BR/VMQ共混物的力学性能取决于补强填料的类型：相较于纯BR体系，添加炭黑可提升其力学性能，而添加二氧化硅则会降低其力学性能。高顺式丁二烯橡胶品级在火星作业温度范围内表现出强烈的结晶倾向（结晶温度约为-60℃，熔融温度约为-20℃），填料的加入会起到结晶成核作用，导致结晶相占比升高。这对于橡胶复合材料的密封应用而言可能是严重隐患。因此，建议后续研究采用非结晶型丁二烯橡胶品级。