scope:

- The handbook covers only those elastomeric products which are described by Government specifications and standards or by nationally recognized technical society specifications and standards. The documents defining the items covered by this handbook were selected from the following sources:

(a) Department of Defense Index of Specifications and Standards (DODISS) (available from the Naval Publications and Forms Center, NPFC 105, 5801 Tabor Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19120).

(b) Aerospace Materials Specifications (AMS) Index and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Handbook (both available from the Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc., 400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096).

(c) National Aerospace Standards (NAS) (published and distributed by the Aerospace Industries Association, 1725 DeSales Street N.W., Washington, DC 20036).

(d) American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Specifications (available from American Society for Testing and Materials, 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103).

- The types of elastomeric products covered by this handbook are as follows:

(a) Products fabricated solely from rubber. These include solid rubber, cellular rubber and hard rubber (ebonite) items.

(b) Composites in which the rubber is present as a discrete phase. Examples are cables, fabric reinforced gaskets, hose, rubber coated fabrics, shock mounts and tires.

- The types of products excluded from this handbook are as follows:

(a) Rubber-base adhesives, coatings, sealers and liquid rubber materials packaged in cans or tubes.

(b) Rubber tapes.

(c) Unvulcanized rubber, such as tread repair stock and tank lining sheet stock.

(d) Composites in which the rubber is in admixture with other ingredients, for example, rubber-asbestos packings and rubber-cork gaskets.

(e) Subassemblies, assemblies and systems which contain elastometric items as component parts, such as small arms, weapons, vehicles, aircraft, missiles and space vehicles. Age controls of elastomeric material for aerospace applications are covered in MIL-STD-1523.

(f) Products fabricated from flexible materials which are not elastomeric, for example, some plastics.