Introduction to Rubber Technology

Course Overview

This course offers a pathway to a Postgraduate Certificate in Polymer Engineering.
The course will provide a sound introduction to rubber materials and their properties. It covers the fundamental aspects of rubber technology in a logical manner, from Material Selection, Compounding, Vulcanisation, Processing (conversion of raw materials into finished products), through to Mechanical Properties, Environmental Resistance, Testing and Specifications, Evaluation of product failure and finally interactive case study exercises.

Course Content

• History of Rubber - A brief synopsis of events in the history of rubber.
• Material Properties and Selection - How the molecular structure of natural and synthetic rubbers affect their properties and ultimate selection.
• Compounding and Vulcanisation - The role of additives. The importance of vulcanisation. Optimising properties, processibility and costs. Getting the best from rubber.
• Conversion - The processes involved in converting the raw materials into finished products including mixing technology, extrusion, moulding and other processes. The Processes are described and the important central parameters highlighted.
• Environmental and Chemical Resistance - The environmental factors that have the potential to cause degradation of rubber compounds and the effects that heat agency has on the network and finished properties. Methods of protection are described.
• Key Mechanical Properties - An appreciation of the static and dynamic behaviour of elastomers and the influence of service parameters such as temperature, strain rates and environment, viscoelasticity is described and its consequences on product performance examined.
• Case Studies - Syndicate sessions on a range of problems designed to reinforce the core topics and give opportunity for discussion and debate.
• Further Notes - All of the lectures are covered by comprehensive notes and these also include additional notes on subjects such as physical.

Benefits

This will enable participating companies to:

• Liaise more effectively with suppliers and customer companies.
• Identify effective quality control procedures for materials and products.
• Look more effectively at optimising in-house processing methods.
• Identify areas of investigation for further product development programmes.

Companies can therefore evaluate the R & D, production, and purchasing activities to identify potential savings and guard against in-service failure. Furthermore, companies gain in-house skills that can be directed to developing products more competitively.