Webinar on natural rubber grades and selection planned

Bangkok, Thailand – KnowHow Webinars announces a webinar led by Dr. Brendan Rodgers will be held on July 28.

Natural Rubber: Grades and Selection will be held July 28 at 10 a.m. CST/5 p.m. CEST/10 p.m. Thailand. Natural rubber is among the most important elastomers used in the manufacture of products such as tires and conveyor belts. The polymer imparts many unique properties such as high tensile strength, tear strength and resilience. This review will discuss natural rubber, beginning with its biosynthesis through to production, classification and fundamental properties. Natural rubber is obtained by tapping the side of the tree Hevae brasiliensis. It is then processed and classified according to the quality and form under which it is shipped. Natural rubber is the preferred polymer in tire applications were high tear strength, tensile strength and low hysteretic properties are required. It is used in wire coat or skim compounds, the shoulder wedge and bead filler, and in tread compounds for winter passenger, medium truck and off-the-road tires. In many tire applications, natural rubber is blended with other elastomers to achieve a required balance of properties. Sidewalls are typically blends of natural rubber and polybutadiene. Innerliner compounds, which are discussed in depth, can contain natural rubber in low amounts when blended with either chlorobutyl or bromobutyl rubber to achieve a balance of high impermeability, good adhesion, excellent flex-fatigue resistance and good durability. The review will also cover natural rubber grader selection by application, interchangeability of grades and quality.

Dr. Brendan Rodgers, based in Austin, TX, has spent 42 years working in the tire and rubber industry with both The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and ExxonMobil. He has worked on a broad range of tire and industrial rubber products, including hydraulic hose and conveyor belts, materials technology and product design. He has had work assignments in the United States, China, Ireland, Italy and Luxembourg, working on original equipment automobile tires, truck tires, industrial rubber products and new tire materials technologies. He is the originator of a broad range of patents in tire and rubber technology, and many industry publications, including editor of Rubber Compounding, Chemistry and Applications, and Tire Engineering, both published by CRC Press. Brendan has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from The Queen’s University of Belfast in Northern Ireland, where he studied thermodynamics, heat transfer through large rubber sections and vulcanization kinetics. He has a Master’s degree in Polymer Technology, also from The Queen’s University, and a B.Sc. in Biological Chemistry from The University of Ulster. Visit www.knowhow-webinars.com for detailed registration information.