Department of Materials

Frequency: Once per Year

Duration: One Week

Date of next course: 26^th to 30^th March 2012

Venue: Loughborough University, Keith Green Building and S Building

Cost: £1150 (£1050 for IOM3 and BPF members)

Accommodation:  Not included.

Recommended convenient hotels: Burleigh Court or The Link

Other Information:
Lunches for short course delegates are included, however short course delegates study alongside full-time MSc students and need to organise their own light refreshments outside of lunchtime.

Description

Rubber Compounding and Processing is an intensive course taught over a one-week period comprising lectures, practicals, case studies, tutorials and complete with an up to date, comprehensive course book and all supporting lecture notes.
This course is specifically designed for people in the rubber and elastomeric industries or materials engineers who need a broad and deep understanding of elastomers and additives used in the rubber industry and their applications. The course will develop understanding of the relationship between structure, properties and applications . It will also develop your skills related to the selection and mixing operations of rubber compounds and the manufacture and testing of engineering rubber components.

For further information:

Administrative:
Martin White
Telephone: (0) 1509 228592
Email: m.e.white@lboro.ac.uk

Technical:
Ali Ansarifar
Telephone: (0) 1509 223159
Email: m.a.ansarifar@lboro.ac.uk

This event has been recognised by the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining for PD.

‘Professional development is the systematic maintenance, improvement and broadening of knowledge and skill, and the development of personal qualities necessary for the execution of professional, managerial and technical duties throughout the practitioner’s working life.’

Disclaimer - Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the details of this course are accurate, Loughborough University Department of Materials reserves the right to alter the course content and/or lecturers if the need should arise.

This course is ideal if you are working in an industrial role and working with elastomers, their processing and formulation or the supply and development of fillers and additives to the rubber industry. The course provides a broad and deep understanding of elastomers and additives used in the rubber industry and of the relationships between structure, properties and applications. It will also develop your skills related to the selection and mixing operations of rubber compounds and the manufacture and testing of engineering rubber components.

The course covers an extensive range of elastomeric materials and their basic science. It looks at the physical properties of these materials and how they influence material choice, design, processing methods and performance. In this way you and your company will benefit from being able to:

• Appreciate the range and uses of industrially available elastomers
• Understand the use of additives in rubbers
• Understand the relationship between elastomer structure, properties and applications
• Formulate rubber compounds for specific applications and property requirements
• Choose appropriate test methods. Understand and develop specifications
• Participate more fully in your development projects
• Confidently discuss and identify requirements with suppliers, customers and workplace colleagues

Throughout the week you will have ample opportunity to clarify these issues and your specific interests in one-to-one free-time discussions with the lecturers. Our main aim is to give you the knowledge, understanding and confidence that you need to develop your role within your company.

Day 1

• Origin, Structure, properties and applications of Natural Rubber
• Introduction to Rubber Properties
• Testing and Mechanical Properties

Day 2

• Fillers in Rubbers
• Origin, Structure, properties and applications of Natural and Synthetic Elastomers

Day 3

• Synthetic Elastomers
• Mixing and Rheology
• Silicone Rubbers and their Industrial Applications
• Practicals, Processing Lab and Testing Laboratory

Day 4

• Additives in Elastomers1
• Manufacturing and Testing of Engineering Rubber-to-Metal Bonded Components
• Practicals, Processing Lab and Testing Laboratory

Day 5

• Additives in Elastomers2
• Feedback

The practicals are designed to complement the lecture content and focus on the relationship between rubber compounding, processing and testing. The two half day lab sessions include:

• Formulation
• Mixing
• Curing and Moulding
• Rubber to Metal Bonding
• Rheology
• Testing

Note: Course information subject to change due to unavoidable circumstances

The lecturers are Loughborough University and Industry based. In this way we ensure that the key elements relevant to industry are brought out and developed.

Ali Ansarifar – Lecturer in Polymer Engineering in the Department of Materials, with particular interest in, Rubbers: fillers, adhesion, fracture and fatigue, rubber to metal and rubber to nylon bonding. Extensive research and industrial collaboration portfolio with 82 publications to date

Jane Clarke – Research Fellow in The Department of Materials, with particular interest in relationships between mixing, processing, microstructure and properties of rubber compounds and thermoplastic elastomers.

Martyn Bennett – Chief Scientist with ARTIS. 20+ years in R & D in the rubber industry from Teaching Company Associate with Bristol University through to establishing Avon Rubbers Materials Development Centre in 1998. Having launched ARTIS in 2007 he brings specialist technical knowledge of physics, metallurgy, polymer science, food processing, rheology, test development, statistical analysis and data management.

Bhukan Parbhoo – R & D Manager for Tubex Ltd. With 20 years working for Dow Corning research groups and specialisation in the science and technology of interfaces. His experience includes surface characterisation, surface engineering, adhesion science and technologies and plasma treatments. Currently developing biodegradable and sustainable bio-based products.
Dr Parbhoo is co-inventor in 16 patents and has co-authored 40 scientific publications and 72 proprietary science and technology reports.

Regretably Dr Parbhoo is unable to present at this year's course and in his place we are delighted to have Dr Andy Chapman (Details below).

Dr. Andy Chapman – Is a Senior Principal Scientist and Head of the Materials & Biotechnology Division at the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre (TARRC), UK. He was trained as a chemist, graduating from Cambridge University, and after an MSc, PhD and post docs, specializing mainly in heterocyclic chemistry, joined TARRC (then MRPRA) at the beginning of 1984, where he has remained ever since. During this period, his areas of interest have grown from focussing on vulcanization chemistry, to also include rubber blends, rubber ageing, rubber recycling and other environmental concerns, reinforcement of rubbers by fillers and application of epoxidized natural rubber in tires.